T’puram: A community-driven online register of marine biodiversity has opened up a window to world beneath the waves off the city’s coast, bringing its rich underwater life into view for the public through a collection of 200 videos and 6,000 images.Compiled by Friends of Marine Life (FML), Community Marine Biodiversity Online Registry (combor.org) is believed to be the first community initiative to track, document and identify the rich biodiversity off the coast by drawing on the knowledge of fisherfolk.In addition to the videos, the registry also meticulously records more than 2,000 marine species, including 519 fish, more than 80 varieties of crabs, 60 sea sponges, 26 seabirds, 110 sea worms, and many other organisms.It also lists with photos a variety of corals, mollusca, arthropods, starfish, seaweeds, sea worms, ascidian, bryozoans, marine insects and several unidentified organisms.Among the unidentified are 48 varieties of sea sponges, 74 coral subspecies, five jellyfish, three starfish and many others.The register has also documented various habitats, including algal, artificial reef, nearshore, offshore and shipwreck habitats, as well as changes to underwater ecosystems. These include the destruction of a sea-worm colony in waters nine metres deep between Azhimala and Adimalathura after dredging began for Vizhinjam port project.The organisms were documented during several dives conducted by divers from FML and Scuba Cochin off the city’s coast, as well as through an examination of organisms caught by fisherfolk. Some are usually caught as a bycatch.Many of the images uploaded reveal a life unknown, as experts have been unable to determine the scientific names of the organisms. However, the local fisherfolk had known these organisms for ages. This includes two varieties of prawns and many of the sea worms.Robert Panipilla of FML said, “We have uploaded all the findings online and provided an option for people to submit inputs if they know the scientific names of species that have not yet been identified in the registry.”He also said that “we are not looking at scientific names because they are found by fisherfolk from the sea and we give importance to local names. But people can identify them and the registry will be updated.”Panipilla said the idea for the registry emerged after several organisms caught and brought ashore alive by fisherfolk were left out of the state’s marine biodiversity register because their scientific names could not be established.
