then wipe out local fisheries. NIO scientists have played a major role in spreading awareness of the problem in India. In recognition of their efforts, the directorate General of Shipping, Government of India, has sought NIO's help to develop plans for ballast water management in major Indian ports. Facilities for research The NIO Data Centre (NIODC) acquires, processes, formats and stores data generated by the institute (from about 1000 cruises during 1973 to 2009) in a database for easy and efficient retrieval and supply to end users. The library of the institute has a collection of over 35,000 books and bound volumes of journals is almost certainly the largest such collection in the country in the field of oceanography. Besides the print collection, the library has on-line access to over 3,000 journals either by direct subscription or as a part of a consortium. Participation of the library in international programmes has made this library a source of information about Indian oceanographic studies for the rest of the world and also to network with other, larger libraries to access documents not available in its holdings. Research at the institute is supported by a large number of well-equipped laboratories on its campuses and by the seagoing capability offered by its ships. To support its multi-disciplinary ocean research programmes, the institute plans to maintain a fleet of three research vessels. The smallest of these is the 23 m long coastal research vessel CRV Sagar Sukti. The recently acquired 56.5 m long RV Sindhu Sankalp serves primarily on the continental margins, but it is capable of open-sea voyages. NIO's 80 m long research vessel RV Sindhu Sadhana, which will be capable of full open-sea studies, was constructed at the ABG Shipyard, Surat. It was joined the institute during 2011–12. The institute has, over time, developed the capability of deploying and retrieving instruments hoisted over moorings in depths from 5 to 5,000 m. These instruments record time-series data during the period of deployment, which can be as long as two years. Opportunities to pursue research and doctoral studies To support its varied activities, NIO uses the services of limited-tenure staff, including doctoral students, project assistants and post-doctoral fellows. Their numbers have grown significantly with the growth in research programmes. The largest increase has been in the number of project assistants since CSIR introduced the "Project Assistant Scheme" to tap the services of fresh graduates for