MARINE SCIENCE CENTRE (MSC)

       The idea of establishing an institution concerned with the study of the Iraqi marine environmental region in the Arabian Gulf rose in 1971 following investigation carried out by UNESCO and presented to the University of Basrah.

      In 1974, Dr. Stevenson of the Marine Division/ UNESCO visited the region and studied the feasibility of establishing such an institute in Basrah. Simultaneously, a small group of marine scientists were actively discussing the same idea within the Department of Biology at the College of Science in Basrah University. In early 1976, this group was organized into a small unit known as “The Coastal Environmental Research Centre”.

  The increase in the number and diversity of research capabilities at Basrah University made it possible to establish an independent unit for marine researches within Basrah University for which the name (MARINE SCIENCE CENTRE) was proposed.

      In February 1981, the centre was officially established and all the researches in the marine field throughout Iraq became a part of this centre.

     The centre is recently directed by its General Manager Dr. Malik Hassan Ali with the assistance of an administrative board consists of the heads of its departments.