Inaugural Address: Workshop on Marine Mammal Stranding

Abstract

I recall the mid-seventies of the last century when I initiated the system of recording Stranding of marine mammals along the Indian Coast and the Lakshadweep and Andaman Nicobar Islands. This was a time when marine fisheries was meant to deal with only finfishes, crustaceans, shell fish and sea weed, Marine mammals wa outside the scope of fisheries. I was asked many a times as to why marine mammal studies should be undertaken as there were organizations, such as the Zoological Survey of India who could do this