Attend a guided walkthrough of this museum to learn about Mumbai's marine life

The head of a snake an elongated body and pearly white teeth paired with a long fin and bilateral gills of a freshwater fish What might sound like wersquore describing a preschoolerrsquos imaginative doodle is in fact the Barca Snakehead a fish that is currently classified as endemic One such snakehead finds home at the Aquatic Biodiversity Museum of the ICAR Central Institute of Fisheries Education in Versova This weekend naturalists and enthusiasts from the collective Bombay Gezgin will take Mumbaikars on a guided walk through the museumrsquos many such hidden gemsStudents observe specimens of fish PICS COURTESYCIFE Ashwini GawlildquoThe museum opened in 2023 but it was frequented mostly by a niche audience of collegians studying fisheries until we recently amped up our outreach effortsrdquo shares curator Dr Abuthagir Iburahim A large part of the collections of corals molluscs arthropods crabs and fishes at the museum are sourced from the institutersquos onfield interactions with local fishermen in settlements like Versova Koliwada we learn For those who might be overwhelmed by the endless rows of glass jars each labelled with the Latin nomenclature of the preserved specimen inside Iburahim assures us that his team of PhD scholars will join the walk to ensure smooth sailingAn exhibit reveals the internal woodwork of a fishing boatFor host Ashwini Gawli the molluscs see box mdash a massive collection of more than 50 specimens mdash are the piegravece de reacutesistance Coming a close second is the seaweed collection comprising red seaweed of the Cryptonemia crenulata species and the branched Coelarthrum opuntia among the endangered corals of the Acropora genus ldquoThese are species of marine flora that you cannot spot on your usual marine walk on the shores of Mumbai Yoursquod have to wade deeper through the water to catch a glimpse Getting a closer look at them is a blessing for enthusiasts like merdquo she revealsStudents pose at the entrance of the Museum in VersovaWhile viewing the creatures from the comfort of the museum the urgency of raising awareness on a larger scale isnrsquot lost on Gawli and Iburahim ldquoMumbairsquos heritage is not only in its architectural marvels and monuments Itrsquos also along its coastsrdquo Gawli reminds us The collection of miniature boat models of varying size and shape at the museum will remind visitors of this natural heritage ldquoWith declining habitats and the domino effect it has on life in coastal Mumbai we run the risk of watching this heritage fade away unless we act fastrdquo they warn usSpecimens of crustaceansAs for what the duo hopes the visitors take back with them Gawli reveals ldquoKnowledge about what lies in our seas and its coasts When you know what beautiful treasures they hide yoursquoll want to save them yourselfrdquo Gawlirsquos words remind us of Sir David Attenboroughrsquos famous lines ldquoIf children donrsquot grow up knowing about nature and appreciating it they wonrsquot understand it and if they donrsquot understand it they wonrsquot protect itrdquoAshwini Gawli and Abuthagir IburahimON February 7 9 amAT ICAR Central Institute for Fisheries Education Yari Road Versova Andheri WestLOG ON TO bombaygezginENTRY Revealed on requestMollusc magicNautilusNautilus have long been hunted for their shells to be used as objects of display and art they are mostly found in deeper waters and are declared as endangered species They can be traced back to the Triassic periodCypraea or cowriesThese are commonly found in tropical waters They have widely been used as a source of food entertainment as ornament and currencyTiger Moon snailsThis is a species of predatory sea snail a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Naticidae They originated in the IndoPacific waters and have a fossil record dating back to 23 million years