Kavaratti Aquarium

The Kavaratti Aquarium is a small but well-maintained marine aquarium displaying the fish and invertebrates of the local coral reef ecosystem. The collection includes several species of reef fish, sea turtles, and coral specimens, presented in tanks that aim to replicate natural reef conditions.

For visitors unfamiliar with tropical reef ecosystems, the aquarium provides useful orientation before snorkelling or diving — a chance to identify the species you will encounter underwater and understand something of the reef's ecology before seeing it in situ. The sea turtle tanks are the highlight; Kavaratti's waters are important hawksbill and green turtle nesting grounds.

The aquarium is small enough to visit in under an hour. It sits near the main administrative buildings in the centre of the island, close to the Ujra Mosque.

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A story
The aquarium is managed by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, which has maintained a research station on Kavaratti since the 1980s studying the ecology of the Lakshadweep reefs. The institute's work contributed to the decision to ban fishing with nets in the lagoons — a rare conservation success that has kept the near-shore reef ecosystem in unusually good health.