- Thanks to the blockbuster animated film Finding Nemo, clownfish are a perennial favourite among aquarium enthusiasts. Now a collaborative effort by the Maharashtra Mangrove Cell and Lucknow’s National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR) will help villagers in Maharashtra’s mangrove belt make a living by cashing in on the fish’s popularity.
- A team from the NBFGR is at Mumbai’s Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Centre in Airoli, nursing hundreds of eggs laid by seven pairs of clownfish, also known as ‘anemonefish’.
- This clownfish hatchery, the first of its kind to be set up in Mumbai, will help the villagers set up a clownfish trade business. In return, the locals would help in mangrove conservation.
- A pair of clownfish costs over ₹2,000.
- Marine aquarium trade is a booming business.
- Our aim is to involve the local communities and offer them livelihood-generating options.
- Around 200 clownfish were brought from Tamil Nadu, Andaman Islands, and Lakshadweep.
- They were paired, and 57 pairs survived.
- There are 30 clownfish species in the world, of which 16 are found in India.
