Mangaluru : The three-day ‘Matsya Mela’ organised by College of Fisheries and other government departments have began at TMA Pai International Convention Centre here on Friday.

A native of Alleppey in Kerala, Firoz Ahammed, who has organised more than 148 exhibitions across India, is now in the city with his first seashells exhibition in the State.

Firoz is into the collection of seashells for the last 19 years and his collection includes more than 500 types of seashells, including different types of corals, sea urchins and cowries.

Firoz also preserves and exhibits them, creating awareness among the public about them.

His collection includes some rare seashells, including ‘Siliqua radiata’ (sun set shell), ‘elephant tooth,’ ‘horned helmet,’ ‘Striate cone,’ ‘Indian Tibia,’ and others.

The biggest shell in his possession is ‘Australian Trumpet’ and the smallest is ‘Nassarius Pictus.’

An ITI diploma graduate, Firoz used to conduct computer classes for students.

He has won ‘Vanamitra Award’ instituted by the Forest Department of Kerala for environment related activities.

The exhibition will continue till March 6 and will be from 9 am to 9 pm.