City's oldest aquarium subject to neglect, board has wrong info

A Mumbai-based animal welfare NGO has alleged that fish were being kept in poor conditions at the Taraporewala Aquarium. He also highlighted how Mumbai's oldest aquarium, despite the much-talked-about modernisation, has completely failed in creating any awareness about marine biodiversity.

Sunish Subramanian, Secretary, Plant and Animal Welfare Society, Mumbai, who has also written a letter to the Commissioner of Fisheries on Wednesday, carried out an inspection along with his team in the aquarium recently after receiving complaints from student visitors.

"We did not expect the condition of the aquarium to be this bad. In several enclosures, the paint in the background had peeled off and was lying inside the aquarium, which could be toxic to the fish and other marine animals. The walls of several enclosures were also covered with fungal growth," said Subramanian, who even submitted photographs that clearly elucidate the issues. Subramanian also found out that a turtle enclosure had 'Blue Ring Angelfish' mentioned on the display board. This reflected that the administration was least bothered about the wrong information being provided to visitors.

Meanwhile, the PAWS team also found that there was not enough staff present to control visitors and prevent them from making noise and disturbing the tranquility of the aquarium. "Another issue we have highlighted is that the entire ambiance of the aquarium seems to be dark and claustrophobic as it's not well-lit, putting LED lights outside the aquarium at night does not benefit the marine life inside nor the people visiting it," Subramanian said.

According to the inspecting team, the aquarium authorities have taken no effort to create awareness on marine species. "Visitors, especially children visit the aquarium expecting to be enthralled by a very modern experience, but end up disappointed as there is no interaction to engage the visitors," said a member of the inspecting team.

A senior official from the State Fisheries Department said there was no threat to the fish. "We are working on fixing the problems and shall take of the paint soon, too," he said.