On March 18, Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Ocean Development (BOD) and the Third Institute of Oceanography under the Ministry of Natural Resources P.R.C. (TIO) signed a framework agreement on the joint construction of Xiamen Gene Bank for Marine Lives, marking the commencement of the project. Report has it that the gene bank will be located in the South Marine Entrepreneurship and Innovation Base in Oucuo, Xiang'an, Xiamen. The project is expected to take five years of construction to become a state-level innovation platform for the genetic resources of marine organisms. TIO has now owned the world's largest reservation and management center of marine microbial species.
