A group of 22 Skill enhancement course (SEC) students and 07 non SEC students of Semester III BSc were taken for a field visit to Abyss aquarium on 15th December 2021. The students were accompanied by Ms. Andrea D’Souza, Dr. Preeti Pereira and Ms. Swizzle Furtado. Abyss aquarium is a marine aquarium popular amidst tourists and locals, located at Verna Industrial Estate. Abyss houses a vast variety of fishes- around 60 species and other marine life. It is first of its kind in Goa and is one of the most famous tourist attractions here. It boasts of being one of India’s most maintained aquariums. Along with the main aquarium area, there are small aquaria also for having an even better view of the fishes including the rare ones. Abyss Marine Aquarium is home to exotic marine life including starfish, sea cucumber, lion fish, lobsters, catfish, finger star, parrotfish and more. They have different species of fishes, some artificially bred with the foreign breeds. Different species of Fishes observed were Koi Carp, Red Oscar fish, Lucky Fish, Silver fish, Shovel nose catfish, Arapaima Fish, Arowana, different species of Cichlids like Gourami, and Angelfish. Some of these aquatic animals have been transported from different parts of the world including Japan, Pakistan, China, Arabian Sea, Australia, Indonesia and Lakshadweep Islands. Scientific and technical equipment are used to manage the marine life simulating natural environmental conditions. The visit to Abyss aquarium was an enriching experience for the students.
