ICAR-NBFGR: National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources

The ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBFGR) was established in December 1983 in a rented premises at Allahabad under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research to undertake research related to the conservation of fish germplasm resources of the country. The Institute's vision is assessment and conservation of fish genetic resources for intellectual property protection, sustainable utilization and posterity.  The Institute has also established ‘Ganga Aquarium’, one of the largest and magnificent public aquariums in the country which is serving as a great source of spreading public awareness and education about fish diversity of the country. The Institute also undertakes capacity development programmes for various stakeholders including researchers, fish farmers, state fisheries department officials and students.

• Assessment and conservation of fish genetic resources for intellectual property protection, sustainable utilization and posterity.
• Collection, Cataloguing and documentation of fish genetic resources using operational strategies of partnership and cutting edge technologies.
  

• Exploration, characterization and cataloguing of fish genetic resources.
• Maintenance and preservation of fish genetic resources for conservation and utilization of prioritized species.
• Evaluation of indigenous and exotic germplasm including risk assessment and fish health.

The Institute has emerged as a Centre of Excellence for research on fish genetic resource management and has made significant contributions in its mandated research areas, as follows:

• Developed database on fish diversity of India containing information about 2953 finfish species.
• Developed database on Freshwater Fishes of Northeast and Western Ghats, and fish diversity checklists for eight states and three ecosystems (Western Ghats, Gulf of Mannar and Vembanad Lake).
• Developed four online databases- Fish Barcode Information System, Fish Karyome, Fish and Shellfish Microsatellite Database, and Fish Mitogenome Resource.
• Extensively explored different rivers basins and two important hotspots viz. Western Ghats and Northeastern States for documentation of fish diversity.
• Discovered forty three new fish species during explorations of ecologically diverse habitats in India during last 10 years, in collaboration with other partner organizations.
• Developed genomic resources including expressed sequence tags and gene associated markers in Indian catfish, Clarias magur and Tenualosa ilisha.
• Phylogenetic relationships of fishes belonging to important groups and genera studied through molecular markers. Initiation of whole genome sequencing of two commercially important fish species, Labeo rohita and Clarias magur in collaborative mode.
• Molecular markers for 35 finfish species identified. Genomic libraries for 6 fish species constructed for microsatellite identification.

The library added a total of 439 documents comprising 216 books, 164 serials and 59 annual reports. Now, the library has the total collection of 5133 books, 2132 bound volumes of journals, 2703 serials and 2261 reprints. The library has subscribed to 34 international current journals and 59 Indian current journals. In addition to these 46 current journals were received on gratis/exchange basis.