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FOREWORD

I feel privileged and honored to write this rather brief Foreword for this book celebrating the retirement of Professor Dr. Ruchira Cumaranatunga from the academia in Sri Lanka, having dedicated all her working life in this front. However, I write this with rather mixed emotions; firstly I should think that it will be difficult to almost impossible, for many more years to come, to fill the lacuna that Ruchira’s retirement will result, in particular at Ruhuna University, to where she dedicated whole of her working life, almost from the day of its inception, and my own alma mater; but on the other hand I am pleased that Ruchira will be able to use the years ahead doing what she likes without stress and external demands.

In this Foreword I will not attempt to enumerate the individual achievements, accomplishments and contributions of Ruhira  over the years to University education, research and to the advancement of science in general in Sri Lanka;  nor do I intend to go into detail of the various positions she has held, in the academia as well as in other organizations and the wide range of important committees she has served on. I will endeavor to focus and generalize contributions she has made over a working life.

I have known Ruchira all my working life spanning well over five decades, initially as an undergraduate at Kelaniya University, then as my colleague and friend at Ruhuna University, in a manner mentoring her in the formative years of Ruchira professional life and primarily a career in the academia. In a manner I have witnessed the transformation of a “cheeky and mischievous” undergraduate to a mature, responsible and a dedicated academic and a professional that her deceased parents and her immediate family and erstwhile friends can all be proud of.

Having worked and associated with many academics drawn from many universities around the world I will, unhesitatingly, rank Ruchira as one of the most dedicated; she literally worked seven days of the week, three hundred and sixty five days of the year all her working life. She was an excellent teacher, winning the hearts of all her students; Ruchira was a good listener and was always approachable to her students and very willingly came forward to address their concerns and problems be it be academic or personal. Often Ruchira would take the initiative if she was to sense that there were problems sprouting and would endeavor to nip those in the bud.

Ruchira was an also very effective administrator and had the knack to attract research funding from local and foreign donor organizations/ institutions. She was also equally successful in negotiating with the government in power to improve the facilities at Ruhuna University.  Ruchira took the initiative on many fronts and was often innovative and forward thinking; she almost single handedly was responsible for initiating the establishment of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology, a thriving faculty offering a variety  of under and post- graduate courses that are relevant to the development of the country as well as of global importance. Her successes in attracting research funding enabled Ruhuna University to build up a cohort of well trained and highly skilled marine biologists thereby making the new Faculty thrive and attract students and researchers.

Ruchira’s dedication to any job she undertakes is best exemplified, in my view, when she made the rather unusual decision for a Sri Lankan academic, to forego her one year sabbatical leave, which is often spent in an overseas institution in a developed country, to devote her time for the work of the Sri Lankan Association of Advancement of Science as its President; in that year I am made to understood that she made major strides that were beneficial  for the Association that are acknowledged by all her peers and colleagues.

In some quarters Ruchira is often misunderstood, as too confrontational and aggressive. This is far from the truth. In my association with Ruchira and knowing and working with her for decades I tend to think such views are unfounded. Of course, she spoke with emotion and fought with conviction on an issue and more often than not she carried the day. What she stood for was not for personal gain but for the well being for the organizations that she represented.

Finally, I wish to end this short Foreword by stating that I cannot be prouder than having given a helping hand to the development of the career of a person such as Ruchira; forthright, dedicated, committed to a cause, innovative and diligent. I wish her the very best what is to follow from here on and hope the country will continue to utilize her vast knowledge and expertise in developmental activities, and she would have more time to spend with family and friends.

Sena S De Silva | BSc (Honours), PhD, DSc (Stirling), Hon. DSc (Ruhuna)
24th January 2019

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Message from Prof. Ranjith Senaratne, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ruhuna

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Message from Prof. Ranjith Senaratne, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ruhuna

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I am most pleased to send this message on the occasion of the retirement of Senior Professor Ruchira Cumaranatunga who has made a remarkable contribution in propelling the University of Ruhuna to greater heights and advancing higher education and science & technology in Sri Lanka. As a trusted colleague, steadfast friend and close companion who was with me through thick and thin and in weal and woe for almost four decades in this hallowed institution, I feel that I am also duty bound to say a few words on this special occasion. At a time when traditions and values that have been cherished for centuries by the people of Sri Lanka have become a casualty of today’s materialistic society, it is heartwarming to know that the staff of the Faculty of Fisheries, Marine Sciences and Technology have organized a felicitation ceremony for Prof. Cumaranatunga, a pioneer member of the academic community.

Born to parents, Mr Dharshin Cumaranatunga (a Civil Engineer) and Mrs Grace Cumaranatunga, Ruchira is the second in the family of five children. Having received education at Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo, she entered the University of Kelaniya in 1973 and read for a BSc honours degree. She joined the Ruhuna University College in 1978 as a Lecturer in Zoology and went on a Commonwealth Academic Staff Scholarship in 1982 to read for her doctoral degree at the Aston University, UK. On return in 1986, she was promoted to the post of Senior Lecturer in the Department of Zoology where she carried out academic work and research under the tutelage of Prof. Sena de Silva. Following the establishment of the Department of Fisheries Biology, Dr Ruchira Cumaranatunga took over the reins of the department in 1990 from the founder Head of Prof. Sena de Silva, to provide academic and administrative leadership. As the Head of the newly carved out Department, she put her heart and soul into it and worked with great dedication, devotion and distinction in further strengthening and expanding its academic and research programmes. Among her many noteworthy contributions to the University of Ruhuna in general, and the Department of Fisheries Biology in particular, the strategic links that she developed with SIDA/SAREC stand out prominently. Through funds secured from SIDA/SAREC exceeding Rs. 500 million, she made an inestimable contribution to the University of Ruhuna by providing postgraduate training to the staff, strengthening laboratory facilities and supporting high impact research in Fisheries Biology and allied fields and providing a high speed campus-wide ICT network which the university then woefully lacked.

She has been literally married to Fisheries Biology and wedded to improving the academic atmosphere, intellectual climate and physical environment of the University of Ruhuna. She has been the recipient of several prestigious fellowships, including the Fulbright Senior Research Scholarship and Commonwealth Fellowship tenable at the University of Hawaii and the National University of Singapore, respectively. Her relentless passion, tenacious determination and unwavering commitment indisputably immensely contributed to the advancement of the Department of Fisheries Biology, facilitating its transformation into to a fully-fledged Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences and Technology in 2005. As the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ruhuna from 2001‒2007, I had the treat of witnessing the blossoming of this Faculty under her able and visionary leadership, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, thereby making  the University of Ruhuna unique in the higher education landscape of the country.

Besides institution building and attracting substantial research funds, Dr. Cumaranatunga dedicated herself to research in Fisheries Biology and allied fields. She has over 100 publications to her credit and was installed Professor of Fisheries Biology in 1999. As an accomplished researcher and scientist and a Professor in Fisheries Biology, her contributions transcended the boundaries of the university to make a significant impact on many institutions such as NASTEC, SLASS, NSF, NARA etc.) and in many spheres including R&D, S&T, science education, popularization of science and  environment. Besides, she served as a key member of the Sri Lankan delegation that negotiated with Indian counterparts regarding the highly controversial Sethu Samudram Canal Project. In recognition of her outstanding contribution in the realm of education, she received the Zonta Award in 2006 from the Zonta Club of Colombo which felicitates outstanding women in the country.

In cognizance of her outstanding calibre, intellectual integrity, intrepidity, vitality and passionate commitment to science, she was installed as the General President of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science in 2013 which is at the apex of the scientific edifice of the country.

Palawinnege Ruchira Tharangani Cumaranatunga, Senior Professor of Fisheries Biology, the founder Dean of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology and the General President of SLASS in 2013 rendered an exemplary service as a teacher spanning a period of four decades, brightening the future of tens of thousands of students, and made signal contribution as an accomplished scientist, dedicated administrator and academic leader in establishing and developing the Faculty of Fisheries and Martine Sciences and Technology and enhancing the stature and image of the University of Ruhuna.

She retired on 14.02.2019 leaving an indelible footprint and a rich legacy behind, which will continue to inspire and benefit the staff and students joining the Faculty for many years come. I wish her the  contended, fulfilling and rewarding  life in retirement which she richly deserves for her four decades of dedicated and distinguished service to the nation.

Ranjith Senaratne , PhD (Vienna), PhD (Durham) honoris causa,

Senior Professor of Crop Science and

former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ruhuna

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Prof. Ruchira Cumaranatunga

Prof. Ruchira Cumaranatunga has been a well-known personality in the fields of Higher Education and Science and Technology. She has earned a well-deserved reputation as an excellent teacher who worked tirelessly to elevate fisheries biology and marine sciences in Sri Lanka. After successfully completing her doctoral studies at the University of Aston in Birmingham on a Commonwealth Scholarship, she continued her teaching and research activities in fisheries biology at the University of Ruhuna. As a result of her courage and enthusiasm blended with hard work Prof. Cumaranatunga was successful in establishing the first ever Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology in Sri Lanka. Thanks to her wisdom and farsightedness, scope of the newly established faculty went beyond mere fisheries biology. It encompassed several important allied areas such as oceanography, marine archeology and marine geology & geophysics providing a new direction to marine sciences in Sri Lanka and also providing a centre for marine scientists to rally around and engage in their studies.

Prof. Cumaranatunga has been an active researcher with an impressive list of publications in local as well as international learned journals. Some of her work has been carried out in collaboration with reputed foreign scientists testifying her acceptance as a fisheries biologist outside the country. Her research is not limited to theoretical aspects of fisheries biology but has also embraced practically useful applied areas with a potential of enhancing the economy of the country and employment generation.

Prof. Cumaranatunga’s contribution was not limited to the field of higher education. She served in the governing councils of National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aquatic Resources Research Agency (NARA) and National Institute of Fisheries and Nautical Engineering (NIIFNE). She had been immensely helpful to NARA in organizing its research activities and improving the quality of its journal giving a more professional outlook. As a member of the governing board of NIFNE she contributed towards the enhancement of quality of its courses accelerating its journey towards the University status.

In addition to fisheries biology Prof. Cumaranatunga has also taken a keen interest in environmental studies. She was involved in the preparation of the country report on the possible impacts of proposed Sethusamudram Canal Project on the fisheries and the sensitive ecosystems of northern and north-western coasts of Sri Lanka and represented Sri Lankan delegation involved in the discussions held in New Delhi India, on the same subject (2004-2005).  She was a member of the National Committee on Ocean & Marine Sciences, appointed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and was involved in the preparation of the report on “Marine Science Research in Sri Lanka – Gaps and Priorities” (2012) and later served as the Chairperson on the Committee on Oceanography and Marine Resources of NSF (2015). She chaired the Progress Review Committee appointed by the Director General, Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat (PRDS) to monitor the Marine Environmental Baseline Survey planned by the NARA within EEZ of Sri Lanka .  The purpose of conducting this survey is to prepare a data base to identify the sensitive coastal and marine ecosystems, with a view to carry out the proposed sea bottom drilling programmes beyond the eastern coast of Sri Lanka for oil and gas exploration, with least or no impact to the sensitive ecosystems. She also served as a Member of the Committee of Experts appointed by the Director General of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) to  study the  environmental impacts  of thermal power  generation and for the preparation of an implementation plan for mitigation of environmental  impact caused by the Norochcholai (900MW) Coal Power Plant (March 2016 to 2018).

Prof. Cumaranatunga’s involvement in matters related to science policy deserves a special mention. Since 2013 she has been a member of the National Science and Technology Commission (NASTEC), a Commission appointed by His Excellency the President for formulation policies related science and technology. She immensely contributed towards the development of National Science and Technology Framework which provides details of research areas related to national development that need the attention of scientists and technologists. She also played a major role as the Chairperson of Basic Science Committee of NASTEC in revising the National science policy of Sri Lanka.

Prof. Cumaranatunga has been a well-respected member the scientific community of Sri Lanka and held several important positions in scientific bodies in the country. Since early days of her career, she has been an active member of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, better known as SLAAS among Sri Lankan scientific fraternity. After serving the SLAAS in different capacities almost for three decades she was elected to the well-deserved position of General President in 2013. This year had been a very productive year of the SLAAS under the able stewardship of Prof. Cumaranatunga.  After the successful completion of her tenure as the General President, she continued her good work as the chairperson of the Ethics Committee, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees and a member of the Search Committee and the Council. Her attempts to improve the physical infrastructure of the SLAAS is commendable even though she could not complete her plans during her tenure of office as the General President. Nevertheless, she has left behind a very good work plan which was immensely useful to the implementation of the building program in January 2019.

Prof. Cumaranatunga has been a serious scientist who has been spending most of her time for research, teaching, and dissemination of knowledge, institution building and policy formulation. The National Academy of Science of Sri Lanka recognized her valuable contribution to science and elected her a Fellow in 2013. She has been an exemplary personality who deserves the admiration of scientific community of the country. She never hesitated to express her candid opinion on any matter fearing possible repercussions. She may leave the University of Ruhuna as she has reached the statutory retirement age. Nevertheless the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology which was initiated through her hard work will continue to serve generations of students who wish to further their studies in marine sciences. This itself is sufficient for her to leave the university as a contended academic. I wish her a happy and fruitful retirement life.
- Prof. Dhammika Tantrigoda

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මෙම පරිච්ඡේදය සනිටුහන් කරන්නේ සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ අධ්‍යයන කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයේ සමකාලීන යෙහෙළියන් වන මහාචාර්ය එන්. ජේ. ද එස්. අමරසිංහ සහ  මහාචාර්ය එම්. ජී. වී. වික්‍රමසිංහ විසිනි.

1978 වර්ෂයේ අගෝස්තු මස 27 වන දින උදාවූ ශුභ මොහොතින් එවකට ශ්‍රී ලංකා විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ මාතර මණ්ඩපය ආරම්භ වූ අතර, එම මණ්ඩපයේ සේවය සඳහා 1978 වර්ෂයේ අගෝස්තු මස 15 වන දින විශ්වවිද්‍යාල ප්‍රතිපාදන කොමිෂන් සභාව මගින් බදවා ගනු ලැබූ ප්‍රථම අධ්‍යයන කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයට ඇතුලත් වූ රුචිරා කුමාරණතුංග මෙනවිය මාතර මැද්දවත්ත කාර්මික විද්‍යාල පරිශ්‍රයේ පිහිටුවන ලද සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ ප්‍රථම අධ්‍යයන කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයේ සාමාජිකාවක් ලෙස සිය සේවාව ආරම්භ කලාය.

එවකට ශ්‍රී ලංකා විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ විද්‍යාලංකාර මණ්ඩපයේ සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව මගින් (1973 – 1977) කාලය තුල පවත්වනු ලැබු සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා විශේෂ උපාධි පාඨමාලාව සම්පූර්ණ කොට සිය සුදුසුකම් සපුරා තිබූ රුචිරා කුමාරණතුංග මෙනවිය සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ පළමු මහාචාර්වරයා වන මහාචාර්ය එස්. එස්. ද සිල්වා මහතා සිය පත්වීම ලබා සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ සේවයට පැමිණීමටද පෙර එම අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ සේවයට එක්වී එහි ආරම්භක සාමාජිකාවක ලෙස කරන ලද මෙහෙවර අති විශාලය.

සමාරම්භක අවධියේදී අනෙක් පීඨ මෙන්ම විද්‍යා පීඨයද විවිධ දුෂ්කරතා මැඩගෙන ඉදිරියට ඇදෙමින් ප්‍රගතියක් අත් කරගත් අතර සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ බර කරට ගනිමින් එම ප්‍රගතියට උර දෙමින් සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශය ඉදිරියට ගෙන යාමේ කාර්යභාරය රුචිරා කුමාරණතුංග මෙනවිය මැනවින් ඉටු කලාය.

මුල් අවධියේදී විද්‍යාගාර පහසුකම් නොතිබූ අතර ප්‍රායෝගික පන්ති පැවැත්වීම ඉතාමත් අසීරු වූ නමුදු 1979 වර්ෂයේදී විද්‍යාගාර පහසුකම් ලැබීමත් සමග ප්‍රායෝගික පන්ති පැවැත්වීම ආරම්භ කරන ලදී. ඒ සඳහා නිදර්ශක ආදිය සපයා ගැනීමට සෑම සති අන්තයකම එවකට රුහුණූ විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයීය මණ්ඩපයේ විද්‍යා පීඨය, අනුයුක්‍ත කරනු ලැබ තිබූ කැළණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශයට ගොස් නිදර්ශක ගෙන ඒමේ ඉතා දුෂ්කර හා වෙහෙසකර කාර්යයේ නියුතු වීමට මුල් අධ්‍යයන කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයට සිදු විය. මෙම අවස්ථාවේදී විවිධ දුෂ්කරතා අභියෝග වලට මුහුණ දෙමින් මහත් කැපවීමකින් අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ සේවයේ නියැලුණු ඇයගෙන් සිදු වූ සේවය, ඇය සමග එම අවස්ථාවේදී කටයුතු කල සහෝදර ආචාර්ය මණ්ඩලයේ සාමාජිකයින් වන අප විසින් සිහිපත් කරන්නේ කෘතවේදීවය.

1980 දී එවකට සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ මහාචාර්යවරයා වූ එස්. එස්. ද සිල්වා මහතා හා එකම ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ කථිකාචාර්යවරිය වූ ආචාර්ය සී. ඩී. ද සිල්වා මහත්මිය සප්ත වාර්ෂික නිවාඩු ලබා ස්කොට්ලන්තයේ ස්ටර්ලිං විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ පර්යේෂණ කටයුතු සඳහා පිටත්ව ගිය අතර අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ සිටී අනෙකුත් ආධුනික කථිකාචාර්යවරියන් දෙදෙනාම 1980 හා 1981 වර්ෂවල සිය පශ්චාත් උපාධි කටයුතු සඳහා විදේශ ගත වීමත් සමග අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ ස්ථීර කථිකාචාර්යවරියක ලෙස විශාල භාරදූර කාර්යකට උර දීමට රුචිරා කුමාරණතුංග මෙනවියට සිදු විය. එම අවස්ථාවේදී සාමාන්‍ය විද්‍යාවේදී උපාධිය හදාරමින් සිටී පළමු, දෙවන හා තෙවන වසර යන ශිෂ්‍ය කණ්ඩායම් තුන සඳහාම සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා පාඨමාලාව සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම මෙහෙය වනු ලැබූයේ රුචිරා කුමාරණතුංග මෙනවිය සහ එවකට සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ සේවය කල තවත් එක් සහකාර කථිකාචාර්යවරියක විසිනි. මේ කාලය තුල සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ ඉතා කැපවීමෙන් කටයුතු කල කුමාරණතුංග මෙනවිය 1982 සැප්තැම්බර් මස පොදු රාජ්‍ය මණ්ඩලය විසින් පිරිනමනු ලැබූ ශිෂ්‍යත්වයක් දිනාගනිමින් සිය පශ්චාත් උපාධි අධ්‍යයනය සඳහා එංගලන්තයේ බර්මින්හැම් නුවර ඇස්ටන්  විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයට ඇතුලත් වූවාය.

සිය පශ්චාත් උපාධිය සාර්ථකව නිම කොට මත්ස්‍ය ජීව විද්‍යා විෂයෙන් සිය ආචාර්ය උපාධිය ලබා 1986 වර්ෂයේදී නැවත සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ සේවයට වාර්තා කරන විට සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශය වැල්ලමඩම පරිශ්‍රයේ පිහිටි නව විශ්වවිද්‍යාල ගොඩනැගිල්ල තුල ස්ථාපිත වී තිබිණි.

1986 වර්ෂයේ සිට ආචාර්යවරියක ලෙස අධ්‍යයනාංශය ගොඩනැගීමට දායක වෙමින් පර්යේෂණ කටයුතු වලද නියැලුනු ඇය 1986 - 1989 කාලය තුල කැනේඩියානු අන්තර්ජාතික සංවර්ධන පර්යේෂණ මධ්‍යස්ථානය (IDRC) මගින් පිරිනමන ලද කැනේඩියානු ඩොලර් 7500 ක් වටිනා පර්යේෂණ ආධාර උපයෝගී කර ගනිමින් තිලාපියා මසුන්ගේ ප්‍රජනන ව්‍යූහ වර්ධනය මත විවිධ ආහාර වර්ග වල බලපෑම සම්බන්ධව සිය පර්යේෂණ කටයුතු සිදු කල අතර 1989 - 1995 දක්වා කාලය තුල ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආඳා විශේෂ වල පැතිරීම හා ගහණ වර්ධනය පිළිබඳ පර්යේෂණ කටයුතු සිදු කිරීම සඳහා ස්වීඩන් රජයට අනුබද්ධිත SAREC සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ NARESA සමග එක්ව පිරිනමනු ලැබූ රුපියල් මිලියන 7.2 පර්යේෂණ ආධාර දිනා ගැනීමට ද සමත් වූවාය. තවද ඇය අවස්ථා කිහිපයකදීම සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ වැඩ බලන අධ්‍යයනාංශ ප්‍රධාන ලෙසද කටයුතු කර ඇත.

1984 - 85 වර්ෂ වලදී සත්ත්ව විද්‍යාව හදාරන සිසුන් සඳහා වෛකල්පිත විෂයක් ලෙස මත්ස්‍ය ජීව විද්‍යාව හැදෑරීමේ අවස්ථාව තෙවන වසරේදී ලබා දෙන ලද අතර 1988 වර්ෂයේදී එතෙක් සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශය යටතේ පැවති මත්ස්‍ය ජීව විද්‍යා උප අධ්‍යයනාංශය විද්‍යා පීඨයේ පුර්ණ කාලීන ස්වාධීන අධ්‍යයනාංශයක් ලෙස ස්ථාපනය කරන ලද අතර එය විද්‍යා පීඨ සංකීර්ණ ගොඩනැගිල්ලට ගෙන යනු ලැබීය. 1989 වර්ෂයේදී එම අධ්‍යනාංශයේ ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ කථිකාචාර්යවරියක ලෙස පත්වූ කුමාරණතුංග මෙනවිය 1990 දී එහි අධ්‍යයනාංශ ප්‍රධාන ලෙස පත් වූවාය.

මත්ස්‍ය ජීව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශය ගොඩ නැංවීමේ පුරෝගාමී මෙහෙයක් ඉටු කල මහාචාර්ය  එස්. එස්. ද සිල්වා මහතාගේ සිහිනය වුයේ එම අධ්‍යයනාංශය පීඨයක් දක්වා දියුණු කිරීමයි. එහෙත් එතුමාගේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ විශ්වවිද්‍යාල සේවා කාලය තුල එය ඉටු කර ගැනීමට නොහැකි වුවද අප්‍රතිහත ධෛර්යයෙන් යුක්තව විවිධ බාධක කරදර වලට මුහුණ දෙමින් එම අධ්‍යයනාංශය පීඨයක් දක්වා දියුණු කිරීමේ උදාර මෙහෙවරට උර දුන්නේ මහාචාර්ය රුචිරා කුමාරණතුංග මෙනවියයි.

1978 සිට 1990 දක්වා කාලය තුල සත්ත්ව විද්‍යා අධ්‍යයනාංශයට ඉටු කරන ලද මෙහෙවර මෙන්ම ධීවර සහ සාගර විද්‍යා හා තාක්ෂණ පීඨය පිහිටුවීමේ පුරෝගාමියා ලෙස කටයුතු කරමින් එම පීඨය ශ්‍රී ලංකා විශ්වවිද්‍යාල අඹරේ දිදුලන තරුවක් බවට පත් කිරීමට ඇය විසින් ඉටු කරන ලද විශිෂ්ඨ මෙහෙය රුහුණ විශ්වවිද්‍යාල ඉතිහාසයේ ස්වර්ණමය අකුරින් ලියවෙනු ඇත.
-මහාචාර්ය එන්. ජේ. ද එස්. අමරසිංහ සහ  මහාචාර්ය එම්. ජී. වී. වික්‍රමසිංහ

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Wishes from  Snr. Prof. Hema M.K.K. Pathirana

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Wishes from  Snr. Prof. Hema M.K.K. Pathirana

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A Jewel in the Crown

Glamor and value of a crown and its glitter is mainly due to the precious jewels embedded on it. We can introduce Prof. Ruchira Cumatanatunga as a jewel in the crown. In 1977, the Government of Sri Lanka established “University of Ruhuna” which is the crown of the Southern kingdom of Sri Lanka. A panel of most senior professors from established universities of Sri Lanka, appointed by the University Grants Commission, carefully selected a Probationary Assistant Lecturer, who is having necessary skills, courage and abilities, to the Dept. of Zoology with a view of developing the new born Ruhuna University to be flourish in to a fully-fledged higher educational institute.  Ruchira Cumaranatunga was this smart and enthusiastic young academic who was recruited to the pioneering academic staff of the Ruhuna University College, on September 15th 1978 at its inception. This is similar to carefully selecting a precious jewel to provide a glitter to the crown of the Southern Kingdom.  She is also hailing from the family of Mr. Munidasa Cumaratunga who is a great Sinhala Scholar from Southern Sri Lanka. I had the privilege to closely associate with her for academic and research work and as a colleague and a good friend.

At the inception of University of Ruhuna, academic staff of the Dept. of Zoology consisted with only two Probationary Assistant Lecturers and Ruchira was one of them. Later, Prof. Sena de Silva, the great fisheries Scientist joined the department and paved her way to be specialized in Fisheries and Aquaculture. At that time basic facilities were not available in the Ruhuna University College and, Matara town was not a developed place.  Travelling from Colombo to Matara was not a comfortable journey and despite the fact that her home town is Mount Lavinia, she decided to serve the new Ruhuna University College which was located in Meddawata, a  village located in the suburbs of Matara.  She commenced her research career under the guidance of Prof. Sena de Silva, and proceeded to the University of Aston in Birmingham, U.K. on a Commonwealth Academic Staff Scholarship to accomplish as an internationally recognized Fish reproductive biologist securing a PhD in 1986.  I could witness her popularity among the members of her research group at the University of Aston as I was reading for a PhD at Department of Chemistry at the same university during that period.

She returned to the University of Ruhuna in April 1986 and was promoted to the post of Lecturer. This young lecturer was admired by her students not only because of her appearance but mainly because of her dedication for teaching and research.  She was a dynamic academic and an innovative researcher with confidence.  Within a very short period after returning from U.K. she managed to secure national and international research grants from NARESA (Sri lanka), IDRC (Canada) and SIDA/SARAC (Sweden) to carry out research on Asian eels, coastal ecology and marine sciences in collaborations with local and foreign researchers. She had a wonderful and a dedicated research team, which joined her for field research conducted in remote areas in Galle, Matara and Hambanthota and to catch glass eels (baby eels) at river mouths around mid-night.  She managed to secure funding from ADB for infrastructure and human capacity building and three probationary lecturers got the opportunity to read for PhDs in Sweden, France and several others to secure MPhil Degrees under her supervision.  She could attract advanced laboratory equipment and acquire two vehicles (Nissan double cab and a Toyota van) which are still being used by the academic staff and undergraduate and postgraduate students for their academic and research work.  I also had the opportunity to carry out collaborative research with her and also to co-supervise several interesting research projects of undergraduate and postgraduate students.

She was appointed as the Head of the Dept. of Fisheries Biology in the Faculty of science, after the resignation of its founder Head, Prof. Sena S. De Silva. She was instrumental in preparing the syllabi for Fisheries Biology to offer it as a major subject for BSc General and Special Degrees.  Due to her utmost dedication to improve higher education in the fields of fisheries and marine science and having identified the needs of these sectors to help socioeconomic development of the country, amidst many obstacles she established the Faculty for Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology in October 2005, which is the only one of its kind within the higher education system in Sri Lanka and she was appointed as the founder Dean of this faculty. With its very attractive curriculum, it has produced internationally highly recognized graduates specialized in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Limnology, Oceanography and Marine Geology.

The University of Ruhuna promoted her to the Post of Professor of Fisheries Biology in 1999 and she is the first to hold this key academic position within the higher education system in Sri Lanka.  She received a president’s award for research publications and the Vice Chancellor’s award for the highest research grant recipient in 2004 and 2007. She received Commonwealth academic staff scholarship and academic exchange fellowship, and the Fulbright senior research fellowship which are prestigious and highly competitive awards.  She was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka in 2013.  She extended her services towards the needs of the country for its socioeconomic development by serving as a member of governing and/or statutory bodies of several institutions and establishments such as NARA, NSF, NASTEC, MEPA and NIFNE and by holding key positions in several scientific and professional bodies such as SLAAS and SLAFAR.

She is a highly recognised scientist and served as a member of the national committees appointed to review the National Projects such as Sethusamudram Canal project (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Port City Project (Primminister’s Office), Environmental Impacts of Coal Power Plants (PUCSL) and the Proposed Moragollla Hydropower project and Technology Needs Assessment for Climate Change (Ministry of Environment).

She is not only a good academic and a researcher, she has many other talents. To mention a few: she is an expert in cooking, sewing, singing, etc. She has been a person who always stood up for justice without considering the personnel benefits she may lose and with her retirement it has created a vacuum.  On top of all the above qualities she had a good heart and always extended a helping hand to those who need help irrespective of the persons status and attitudes.

The path she had to follow during the 40 years she spent at the University of Ruhuna was not a bed of roses. She had to face many challenges which she faced with courage, dedication and with a smile.  After offering a yeoman service to the University of Ruhuna, to southern Sri Lanka and to the nation she retired on the 13th of February 2019.  With her retirement, the precious jewel of the crown has created a hole in the crown and I hope that one of her followers would fill in this gap. Although she retired from University of Ruhuna, she will contribute her services to the University and the country when and where ever her services are expected.  I wish her good health, happiness and peace with the blessings of the protection and blessings of the noble triple gem.

Snr. Prof. Hema M.K.K. Pathirana
Professor of Chemistry
University of Ruhuna

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Future Perspectives by Prof. Ruchira Cumaranatunga

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Future Perspectives by Prof. Ruchira Cumaranatunga

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Expansion of Fisheries and Marine Science Education and Research in Sri Lanka: An important strategy towards achieving sustainable socioeconomic development goals

Professor (Emeritus) P.R.T. Cumaranatunga,

Former Senior Professor and Professor of Fisheries Biology, Dept. of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Founder Dean of the  Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology, University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka.

Fisheries has been a major traditional industry in Sri Lanka and also a livelihood for coastal communities from time immemorial. Until recent years, fishery industry was based on traditional or indigenous knowledge, gathered and transferred from generation to generation.  With the population explosion and demand for a cheap source of animal protein increased and to fulfill the latter, introduction of exotic fish species having a food value, in to seasonal and perennial reservoirs for aquaculture, the need for research and technological development, were identified as important phenomena to maintain the sustainability of fisheries industry and aquatic resources that support them.  When considering the global context, since ancient times, for majority of coastal communities and nations involved in fishing, fishery industry has been considered not only as a major source of food, which provides animal protein, but also as a provider of employment and economic benefits.  In Sri Lanka fisheries industry which includes capture and culture fisheries, while providing an important source for animal protein, lipids and minerals, that helps to combat the malnourishment and to maintain good health among local communities, contributes to many marine, coastal, downstream and upstream activities and also to ancillary industries, such as the production and maintenance of fishing gear, fishing vessels and aquaculture equipment, fish curing & processing, packaging and marketing (trade).  When considering the importance of developing fisheries industry, especially the marine sector, the question arises whether Sri Lanka has taken necessary steps to adequately educate those who are involved in this industry to ensure its sustainability and to improve the economic gains from it.

The importance of improving fish production in order to meet the needs of the increasing population of the country has been well recognized.  But, have the policy makers in Sri Lanka, recognized the needs to introduce novel technology and more advanced research programmes to explore the possibilities of improving the fish production?  In the global context major activities, which are currently identified in order to enhance the production from capture and culture-based fishery industry and for their sustainability are, Natural fish resource management; Production of fish feed for aquaculture with suitable nutritive value; Health management of fish; Fish post harvest handling and reduction of post harvest losses; Improvement of transport, storage, curing, processing and packaging facilities; Fish marketing; Manufacture and operation of fishing gear and crafts using modern technology; Fishery waste management and use them to produce value added products; aquatic ecosystem conservation & management; control of environmental pollution caused by fishery industry-based activities; and socioeconomic development of communities involved in capture and culture fishery industries.  Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has identified the most important strategies needed for development of global fisheries sector and they are: capacity development in the fisheries and other related sectors with personal communication (primary need); and assessment of training-needs and curriculum development, which has proven to be an essential element for successful capacity development.  In Sri Lanka whether the government of Sri Lanka has adequately addressed these issues, especially the needs in marine sector is questionable.  During the past several decades, major steps have been taken to improve the inland aquaculture and culture-based inland capture fisheries, as a result of the efforts of dedicated fisheries scientists from academia administered by the Ministries of Higher education and Youth affairs and from National Aquatic Resources and Research Agency (NARA) and National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA) administered by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development (MOFARD).  But sufficient emphasis has not been given to the marine sector, although Sri Lanka is an island nation surrounded by the Indian ocean, having an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of more than 7 times the land area of Sri Lanka and there is a potential to further increase in the access to marine resources with the delimitation of the outer edge of the continental margin of Sri Lanka.

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Sri Lanka with its strategic location within the Indian Ocean, is blessed with a territorial sea of 21,500 square kilo meters and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coast line, with an extent of 517,000 square kilo meters, within which Sri Lanka enjoys the rights to the resources in the water column, subsurface and the seabed.  Socio economic importance of fisheries industry, is evident from the Annual Reports published by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Development (MoFARD) of Sri Lanka.  Fisheries sector is providing direct and indirect employment opportunities to more than 560,000 people and it is a livelihood for more than 2.6 million people in the country.  Fish is a valuable living resource for generation of income and earning foreign exchange. It is also a valuable source of animal protein available at a reasonable price, not only for the rich but also for the rural poor in the country and also currently it contributes about 1.1 percent to the country’s GDP. For Sri Lankans, nearly 40 percent of the per capita animal protein consumption is coming from fish. The MoFARD is targeting for an increase in the national fish production up to 685,700 MT in order to achieve the target of improving the per capita fish consumption to 22Kg per year.  Due to above mentioned reasons and also due to many other factors that contribute to socioeconomic development of the country, fisheries industry is considered as one of the major potential areas for expansion of the economy of Sri Lanka and to improve the social well being of its people.  But the question arises whether the scientific approach to enhance the fisheries industry and to manage the fish resources and aquatic ecosystems that support this resource (especially the Marine environment) is adequate to achieve the sustainable goals of the fishery industry.  Awareness among those who are involved in the fishery industry on sustainable utilization of marine fishery resources is highly inadequate, and therefore some of the resources are harnessed selfishly without considering the maximum sustainable yield.  Certain economically important fish species with a food and/or an ornamental value (e.g. Sharks, certain species of tuna and ornamental fish such as colourful butterfly fish) have reached or rapidly reaching the endangered or threatened levels.

The fisheries sector constitutes of three major sub sectors viz. Inland Fisheries (which includes Aquaculture and culture-based capture fisheries), Coastal Fisheries, Demersal fisheries and Offshore/Deep Sea Fisheries. Water resources enjoyed by Sri Lanka indicates the great potential for expansion of marine and inland fish production.  Sri Lanka is rich in inland water resources (489,000 ha), which consist of 103 perennial rivers (4 major rivers), of which 23 river basins are larger than 500 km², and a large number of man-made reservoirs (perennial and seasonal), villus and brackish water lagoons and estuaries.  Presently, they are the major contributors to the inland fishery industry of the country.  Out of the 280,000 ha of inland water bodies 175,000 hectares is freshwater (2.7 ha per every square kilo meter) and the rest is from 45 major brackish water lagoons, estuaries and marsh land.  Inland perennial reservoirs and tanks usually carry water all the year round (70 000 ha) and other reservoirs and tanks (76 000 ha) are seasonal. In addition to the above there is a large number of abandoned seasonal tanks, which have been built by the ancient kings of Sri Lanka, which needs restoration. With further expansion of Sri Lanka’s EEZ with the proposed delimitation of the outer edge of the continental margin, Sri Lanka will own an EEZ equivalent to 23 times the size of its land mass (approximately 1.400,000 km²) and it is questionable whether Sri Lanka has fully explored the resources (both living and non-living)  available in the EEZ currently enjoyed and whether the Sri Lankan government is ready to explore and harness the living and non-living resources that may be available with the expansion of its EEZ.

According to the ‘Fishbase’ 1169 species of fish have been recorded from Sri Lanka.  Out of them, 970 are marine, 174 are freshwater and others include introduced species (food and ornamental fish), brackish water species and those that are migrating to and fro between freshwater and marine waters), which indicates the richness of fish biodiversity enjoyed by the country and the potential for their utilisation for future economic developments of the country. Fisheries industry includes two major categories viz. capture fisheries and culture fisheries (Aquaculture) and it plays a significant role in the country’s export economy.  According to the Annual Report of the Central Bank 2017 & 2018, in Sri Lanka, total production of fish and fishery products is around 530,000 and 527,000 metric tons respectively, and in 2019 it has dropped to 506,000 which accounts to 4 percent due to a reduction in marine fish production. This drop is partly due to harsh weather conditions prevailed in the Indian Ocean during 2019 and also could be due to poor resource management or unsustainable fishing operations during previous years.  Reasons for such changes in fish production and behaviour of fisher resources should be scientifically investigated continuously, in order to find solutions for changes in production and for sustainable management of this important resource.  Marine fish production includes, deep sea, coastal and lagoon fish, according to MoFARD reports it accounts to 82 percent of the total fish production. Inland fisheries which accounts for 18 percent of the total production has increased by 3 percent from 2018 to 2019, which could be due to restocking of fingerlings in to seasonal and marine tanks which contributed to culture based capture fisheries in the inland waters. Total fish production in 2017 had a value of  35,172 Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR); from that 17,593 metric tons, which is about 3.3 percent with a value of LKR million 26,802 has been exported as raw fish as well as value added processed products and the rest has been used locally.  During 2019, fish exports have increase by 11.5 percent with a total value LKR 53,483 million, in terms of weight it is 28,771 metric tons, which accounts to a growth of 2.8 percent.  During the same period earnings from exports of ornamental fish has been LKR 2,913 million. However, contribution from the Fisheries sector to the GDP has dropped from 1.3 percent in 2017 to 1.2 and 1.1 percent in 2018 and 2019 respectively, which is a matter to be seriously considered by the government of Sri Lanka.

Statistical Division of MoFARD of Sri Lanka reported that, from 2012 to 2016 annual fish production has increased from 486170 MT (452,890 MT marine and 67,300 MT inland and inland aquaculture)  to 530920 MT (456,990 MT marine MT and 73,930 MT inland & aquaculture) and  from 2013 to 2016 per capita fish consumption has increased from 41.3 to 47.2 g day⁻¹. This indicates the increasing trends in the importance of fish as a source for animal protein. Total seafood export market has shown a growth rate of around 5% within the last few years, for which key buyers are from UK, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands and the USA.  Sri Lanka is categorized under the exporters of good quality tuna to international markets and export of food fish predominantly includes yellow fin and big eye tuna.  Exported tuna are of sashimi quality, tuna loins, fresh tuna steaks, tuna topping, tuna saku blocks, etc. Other varieties included in the Sri Lankan seafood export market are bill-fish, shrimps,  lobsters, crabs, squid, cuttlefish, shark-fin,  Sea cucumber (beche-de-mer), etc. which are famous in the international seafood market, due to their quality and taste. Value added shrimps are popular in the Japanese, USA and Asian markets such as Singapore.

Amount of food fish exported in fresh and processed form in 2015 and 2016 have been 17,461 to  17,593 MT and the value of exported  fish (include live fish) during the same years have been LKR 24,716 and 26,802 million. Value of exported live fish has reduced from 2015 to 2016 from 2392 to 1847 million rupees.  This is an indication of the decreasing trends of supplies of live fish that includes marine and freshwater ornamental fish for the export industry, and hence this can be an indication of a possible depletion in their natural populations.   Most of the exported freshwater fish are cultured, but the majority of marine fish species exported, which includes more than 182 species with an ornamental value, which are captured from the wild.  Only a few species of marine ornamental fish exported are bred in captivity.  Due to the illegal and destructive methods adopted to exploit the marine ornamental fish resource by the fish collectors, who are not aware of the life history or the ecological importance of those fish species and on the negative impacts caused for sustainability of the live fish trade, due to their overexploitation without considering their size at maturity and rate of replenishment of their stocks.   A decline in several species of colourful reef-fish  (butterfly fish, angel fish, lion fish, groupers, clown coris, cleaner wrases, etc.) have been observed in the recent past. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have categorized some of those species as endangered or threatened. This decline is clearly indicated in the annual reports of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Development (MoFARD) (Table 1).

Table 1:Total and sub-sectoral annual fish production in Sri Lanka from 2017 to 2019 (Extracted from annual reports of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development (2018 & 2019)

| Subsector | Annual fish production (MT’000) | % change per annum
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 (a) | 2017/2018 | 2018/2019(a)
| Marine | 449 | 439 | 425 |     -1.7 |  -5.4
|    Coastal & Lagoon | 260 | 249 | 243 |     -5.3 |   -2.6
|   Off-shore | 190 | 190 | 173 |      3.8 |   -9.2
| Inland Fisheries |  82 |   88 |  90 |     10.7 |    3.0
|   Capture |  69 |  71 |  73 |     17.3 |    3.1
|   Aquaculture |   9 |    8 |  11 |     -7.9 |   26.1
|   Shrimp |   5 |    8 |   6 |    -23.2 | -21.8
| Total | 531 | 527 | 506 |       0.1 |   -4.0

a-provisional

Decline in the marine fish production from 2018 to 2019 could be attributed to the decline in both offshore/deep sea and coastal & lagoon fishery industry (Table 1), but mainly due to a decline in deep-sea fishery industry, which could be attributed to bad weather conditions prevailed in 2019.  Decline in coastal & lagoon fishery which mainly includes the reef fish capture fisheries, could be due to overexploitation of these resources above the sustainable levels.   Off-shore marine fisheries, depend on the large pelagic fish, such as yellowfin tuna, skipjack tuna, seer fish, bill fish, sail fish, sharks, etc., which are very important for export market.  In contrast to marine fisheries, freshwater capture fishery has reported an increasing trend from 2015 to 2017, which is mainly due to culture based capture fishery, that includes exotic species such as tilapia and Indian major carps  (Rohu, Catla and Mrigal).  Introduction of exotic species to perennial and seasonal man-made reservoirs of Sri Lanka have been carried out for more than 5 decades. This could be the major reason for the increased per capita fish consumption, 41.3 to 47.2 g day⁻¹ during the period from 2013 to 2016 (MoFARD, 2016).

In the Indian Ocean, not much work have been carried out on fish, especially on population dynamics and mapping of reproductive & feeding grounds and migratory circuits of economically important large and small pelagic fish, demersal fish and the reef fish.  Information available for management of those fish stocks are therefore only coming from the unscientifically prepared catch data collected from the fishers, by the fishery inspectors. These information, are more often not recorded in a scientifically useful manner as the fisherman are not trained for such purposes. Migratory circuits of highly migratory species such as tuna and billfish species are identified for Atlantic and Pacific oceans, by adopting “Mark & Recapture” method and/or molecular genetics coupled with remote-sensing techniques, by scientists from oceanographic institutes established in developed countries bordering those oceans.  Such information in the Indian ocean are lacking and at international conferences such as tuna conference annually held in Lake Arrowhead California, it is frequently mentioned as a drawback, when efforts are made to study the population dynamics of large pelagic fish.  Fisheries and Oceanographic Institutes in the developed countries bordering the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans such as USA, Canada, UK, Norway, Japan, etc. are equipped with advanced technology and facilities to conduct advanced oceanographic expeditions. In contrast to those oceans, in the Indian ocean, which is surrounded by middle income or low income nations, only few studies have been carried out on population dynamics, distribution, life history, migration, etc. of marine fish species, due to lack of necessary research vessels equipped with sophisticated oceanographic and remote sensing equipment. Lack of well-equipped marine science research laboratories/facilities for captive breeding of endangered marine species and for more advanced studies related to marine fish and other marine organisms of economic importance, have hindered the marine biological and oceanographic research. Out of the few studies that have been carried out in the Indian Ocean, expeditions carried out by the Norwegian, Fridtjof Nanson’s marine research vessel, 4 decades ago and in 2018 and research conducted by Chinese Oceanographic Institutes are the only scientifically planed studies carried out within the EEZ of Sri Lanka. For the Fridtjof Nanson’s expedition carried out in 2018, only a few fisheries and marine scientists from NARA and other institutions under the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Development were allowed to join the Norwegian Scientists, while no opportunity was given to other internationally trained and accomplished fisheries and marine scientists who are attached to the higher educational institutes of Sri Lanka.  This indicates the inadequate cooperation and collaboration among the important institutes funded by the Sri Lankan government and administered by different ministries (viz. Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Youth affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, etc.)  and also among the scientists trained under the scholarships and grants given by the developed countries for human capacity building in fisheries sector of the country.  Each of those institutions involved are working in isolation and struggling individually and competing to achieve their individual goals for their own existence and prestige without giving a holistic approach to country’s important sustainable socioeconomic development goals.  This is an important matter to be considered by the policy makers, and necessary action should be taken and strategies should be developed without further delay, for efficient utilization of limited infrastructure facilities and human resources with advanced knowledge in fisheries and marine sciences, in order to develop the industries based on fisheries and other marine resources to achieve the sustainable socioeconomic development goals of the country.

Considering the importance of Fisheries and Marine Science Education to Sri Lanka and the strategic location of the University of Ruhuna, which is facing the southern Indian Ocean, a highly challenging major steps were taken by the academics of the Faculty of Science of University of Ruhuna led by late Prof. Sena de Silva, by offering Fisheries Biology, initially (in 1985)  as an optional subject and later as a major subject for the B.Sc. General & Special Degrees (in 2000 & 2002 respectively) offered by the Faculty of Science. Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology was established at university of Ruhuna in 2005, as an upgrading of the Dept. of Fisheries Biology in the Faculty of Science.  Initially there were number of queries from the senior administrators of the University Grants Commission and from the academics of the university, who had doubts about the fate of the graduates produced by the faculty. Following were the most important queries out of them.

·        Fish is an animal and why the education related to fish could not be handled under other major science-based subjects?

·        Why should the government spend more money for a new degree programme?

·        How many students are enrolled for the course?

·        What is the scope for graduates with a B.Sc. Degree in Fisheries and Marine Sciences?

·        Why should the government spend funds equivalent or more than the annual grant allocated to produce a medical student to produce a B.Sc. graduate in Fisheries and Marine Sciences?

The staff of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences and Technology which was established in October 2005, could be proud of its achievements in the past 15 years.  Faculty has provided the answers for most of the above queries during this period. The faculty was initially established with a view to launch advanced studies related to fisheries, aquaculture (freshwater, brackish-water and open-ocean), fish ecology and fisheries oceanography in order to build human capacity in those fields to produce professional fisher communities in the country.  During the last 15 years, faculty could successfully conduct its B.Sc. in Fisheries and Marine Sciences degree programme, amidst lack of most important facilities such as marine research facility and a fully equipped marine research vessel to carry out expeditions in the open ocean.  Annual grant offered by the government for fisheries and marine science education is inadequate to provide a wide theoretical knowledge and it is barely sufficient to at least offer a basic knowledge on fisheries and marine sciences.  But the international grants awarded for Research and Development, which have been attracted by the academics attached to the three departments in the Faculty, viz. Dept. of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Dept. of Limnology (recently changed to Limnology and Water Technology)  and Dept. of Oceanography and Marine Geology, helped to acquire necessary facilities to provide a basic practical training to all undergraduates who enrolled for the B.Sc. in Fisheries and Marine Sciences Degree programme and an advanced training in certain areas to those carried out research project on selected areas of marine sciences.

To provide a wider knowledge on marine fisheries and on biological, physical and chemical characteristics of the Indian Ocean, B.Sc. Degree Programme in Fisheries and Marine Sciences should include advanced field practical courses supported by marine expeditions that provide the necessary training for a more detailed exploration of the marine environment and its living and non-living resources. In order to fulfil this need, the Ministry of Education should provide the required funds to acquire infrastructure facilities, to establish a fully equipped marine research facility, and/or to develop strategies to share the research facilities available at NARA, NAQDA and other institutions under all other line ministries that govern activities connected to capture and culture fishery industry and aquatic resource management. In addition to the above it is very important to develop financial, administrative and regulatory mechanisms for effective utilization of foreign research grants attracted by the academics and researchers of the country for human and infrastructure capacity building in the respective fields.  Local scientists are suffering the drawbacks of inadequately formulated currently practiced financial regulations to administer the foreign grants attracted for research by the local scientists to their respective institutions, through personal efforts and collaborations with foreign research & academic institutions and funding authorities.  For example, due to wrong administrative and financial regulations adopted by the Ministry of Higher Education, funds were not freely available to continuously conduct research on coastal and marine ecology under an attractive research grant awarded by the Swedish agency for International cooperation (SIDA), for capacity building in Marine Sciences at University of Ruhuna.  To inappropriate Financial and Administrative regulations adopted to manage those research grants and failing to provide a suitable site to establish a marine research facility, SIDA funds could not be efficiently utilized for marine research and more than 1.9 million Swedish Kroners (≈SLRs 28 million)  were withdrawn by the funding authority from a total grant of 4.1 million Swedish Kroner, which included funds to equip a marine research facility.

Research projects carried out by the students and staff of the faculty, have identified the research needs in the fisheries and marine science sectors through the findings of small research projects carried out under tye B.Sc. Degree programme and postgraduate research areas.  One of the most important out of them is, the possibility of utilising less popular fish, trash fish and fishery industry waste to produce value added products , Viz. fish feed, fish skin soft leather, fish collagen & gelatine, fish oil, biodiesel, fish meal, fish silage, etc. from fin-fish waste; production of chitin and chitosan (a valuable raw material for many industries, mainly those  based on nano-technology, etc.)  from shell-fish waste, which can be introduced to the local and export markets.  Furthermore, the research findings of the projects carried out by the staff and students utilising the small grants offered by the National Science Foundation (NSF),  university and other local funding sources have also indicated the need to include advanced practical course units involving in-depth studies on life history, migration, ecology and population dynamics of marine fish, fisheries oceanography, etc., which would help to widen the knowledge on economically important fish species for sustainable management of their populations/stocks and to build human capacity to be involved in research needed for development of fishery industry and related ancillary industries in the country.

Annual Statistics of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology of the University of Ruhuna had provided evidence that the theoretical knowledge and little practical knowledge given to the graduates produced by the faculty, have given them the opportunity to attract national and international recognition when considering the employability and suitability to successfully compete for international scholarships and fellowships offered for graduate studies and research.  More than 80 percent of the graduates produced to date are well employed within the first year of their graduation. Their employment is not only in the state sector organisations such as NARA, NAQDA, Dept. of Fisheries, Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), Coast Conservation Department (CCD), National institute for Fisheries and Nautical Engineering (NIFNE) and Higher Education Institutes governed by the Ministries of Higher Education and Youth Affairs, but also they are in great demand for private sector employment at fish processing industries and aquaculture industry. Few of them have established their own enterprises related to fisheries and aquaculture. Significant number of graduates passed out from the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences have been successful in securing most prestigious and internationally competitive scholarships offered for postgraduate studies by Fulbright foundation, Association of Commonwealth Universities, Erasmus Mundus, DAAD, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and Governments of Japan, Korea and Taiwan.  Those graduates also have excelled in their graduate studies/research at international institutions and have achieved very high standards; i.e. GPA of 4,00 (out of 4.00), Great and Greatest Distinctions, Best Student’s Awards, Gold Medals, etc. If not for political interference for most suitable local employment opportunities available for the graduates produced by the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences in the country, their employability could have been increased to much higher percentages.

Recruitment of unskilled and inadequately qualified and untrained personnel for employment in the fisheries and aquatic resource development sectors and for marine sciences related government and semi-government institutions, development of fisheries and aquaculture industry and the management of aquatic resources have not made expected developments in the country.  If the persons with adequate qualifications, experience and knowledge in various fields related to fisheries, aquaculture and marine sciences, are recruited for employment opportunities available in the government and semi-government institutions involved in research/development/management and get their assistance for policy formulation and their implemention in the fisheries and aquatic resource development sectors, fish and fishery-based product development could have been improved up to internationally accepted standards.  If adequate financial support is provided for research and development activities related to capture fisheries, aquaculture, fish postharvest technology and for fishery waste processing industry to produce exportable value added products (Fish skin leather, gelatine, chitosan, natural calcium, fish oil, etc.), foreign exchange earnings from this industry could be increased and also the unemployment of graduates and other persons qualified in respective fields could be reduced.

Government policies and specific rules & legislations that govern the fisheries and aquatic resource management should be formulated/renewed/enforced, in order to sustainably manage and develop these resources, to achieve the respective socioeconomic development goals and also to build capacity in the relevant state institutions. Best Management Practices (BMPs) play a major role in the development of capture and culture fisheries for which development of national policies for fisheries and aquaculture education, research and extension is of prime importance. In order to use fisheries industry to contribute to economic growth and poverty alleviation, community participatory and equity-based activities with an ecosystems approach should be adopted to capture and culture fisheries and for related water resource management.  This could be only achieved by improving the knowledge of persons involved in all aspects related to the fisheries and aquatic resource-based activities for which education and dissemination of indigenous and other basic and advanced knowledge gathered for generations is of prime importance.  Therefore, the primary, secondary and tertiary education and vocational training in the country should be formulated in order to develop an interest among the people to be sensitive about the natural resources (including fish and aquatic resources) of the country, in order to save them for future generations while sustainably utilizing for socioeconomic development of the country.   Therefore, for advancement of knowledge in fisheries and aquatic resource sectors, curricula of all educational institutes should include basic and advanced sciences that are directly and indirectly related to fisheries and aquatic resource-based socioeconomic development of the country.  When considering the education in the fields of fisheries and aquatic resources, following are the basic and advanced subjects which should be dealt with, at various levels within the local education system.  Basic subjects could be introduced to primary and secondary school curricula and the advanced subjects should be taught at tertiary educational institutes and vocational training institutes.

Basic subjects related to fisheries and Aquatic Resources:

·        Basic Biology of fish and other economically and ecologically important aquatic organisms

·        Basic principles governing the populations of fish and other aquatic organisms and their ecosystems

·        Human activities that cause positive and negative impacts on diversity of fish and aquatic organisms and their ecosystems

·        Fish as a source for animal protein, and other macro and micro-nutrients

·        Fish as a resource for various economic activities (e.g. capture fishery, Aquaculture, etc.)

Advanced subjects related to fisheries and aquatic resources:

Advanced Biology and behaviour of Fish (fin-fish and shell-fish), morphology, anatomy, histology, population dynamics,  molecular biology, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, parasitology, etc.

Oceanography, Limnology and Aquatic Ecology

Sciences & Technology dealing with anthropogenic activities related to fisheries industry. i.e. capture fisheries, culture fisheries, fishing gear & crafts, fish post-harvest handling and processing, fish disease diagnosis and control, fish feed formulation, quality control and value addition for fish and fishery products

Fishery and aquatic resource management and fishery waste management, including conservation and management of aquatic biodiversity & ecosystems and pollution prevention

Fishery economics and social sciences relevant to socio-economic development of fisher communities and those depending on ancillary industries related to fisheries industry

Designing of fish landing & marketing sites, fish transport and processing facilities

Designing of machinery used in fishery and aquaculture industry and for fish curing, processing, packaging and transport.

Use of remote-sensing technology for management of aquatic resources.

Fish and fishery-based industries could be developed by human capacity building through education and vocational training and by conducting awareness programmes for fisher communities using trained personnel.  Employment in the fisheries sector also should be given high social recognition.  During the past, fishing as an occupation is considered at a lower level in the social hierarchy. Unless fishing is considered as an industry that should be handled and managed by professionally qualified personnel, there are very little chances of developing the fisheries sector up to the expected international standards.

All aspects related to fisheries industry should be scientifically planned and managed in order to develop it to a profitable industry and to produce live fish and fresh & processed fishery products with international standards that are required to concur the international market. Well managed fishery industry would increase the employment opportunities for suitably educated and well trained local communities. According to the global scenario as reported by FAO, small-scale fisheries and aquaculture are two major sectors that contribute to employment and the animal protein requirements to global communities.  Employment in these sectors are reported to be accounted for 41 million people worldwide, out of which, the vast majority to be from developing countries, working in fish production, trade and fishery commodity production destined for export. It has been also emphasized by the FAO that, despite the significant contributions that fisheries and aquaculture make to employment, nutrition, and trade in the developing world, they are rarely included in national development policy and donor priorities of those countries. Most important reasons identified for this drawback is the limited access for policy makers to data, which reflect the value of small-scale fisheries.  It is due to the reason that the fish catch data are not collected and recorded scientifically and they are collected by fishers who have not received formal education or training required for that purpose.  Recording, analysing and reporting of fishery data should be handled by personnel who has ICT-based education, training and experience.  Scientifically collected time-line information and analysed data, could be utilised to predict the future of the fisheries industry and also would help to identify the suitable strategies for expansion of the industry.  As reported by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) employment in the fisheries sector (capture and culture) has shown a threefold increase from 13 million people in 1970 to over 41 million in 2004 (Figure 1), where expansion of the aquaculture industry in Asia is reported to be the highest contributor. The regional share for employment in Fisheries and Aquaculture indicates that more than 95% of the employment in aquaculture and more than 79% of employment in fisheries are from Asia (Figure 1).

Figure 1:  Development in employment in the fisheries sector (fisheries and Aquaculture) from1970 to 2004, according to the continents (Left) and Regional share in Fisheries and Aquaculture in  (Right) . (Source: FAO)

Sri Lanka being a South Asian country surrounded by the Indian ocean, Sri Lankan government should take necessary steps to invest in the fisheries and marine science education in order to develop human capacity for scientifically manage this industry, in concurrence with the United Nations sustainable goals.  If the fish captured and cultured are maintained at high quality and the fishery-based processed products are maintained at quality and standards expected by the global market, Sri Lanka could earn foreign exchange and also improve the contribution to GDP from the fishery industry, hence paving the way for country’s socioeconomic prosperity. This could be achieved only by improving the primary, secondary and tertiary education system by allocating a higher annual grant for fisheries and marine science and technology education in Sri Lanka to build human capacity to achieve the socioeconomic development goals related to fisheries and aquatic resource sectors, which are among the major contributors to the wealth of the country.

Sri Lanka being an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, Sri Lankan Government should give more emphasis for exploration of the current status and the changes that may occur in the future with respect to physical, chemical and biological characters of the Indian ocean (especially due to climate change), that cradles utilised and underutilised and unutilised, living and non-living resources. Furthermore, Sri Lanka should keep track of the changes that occur in the surrounding marine waters, due to global warming, release of pollutants by vessels and neighbouring countries, over-exploitation and illegal harnessing of marine resources, etc. Above all illegal information gathering by foreign vessels on ocean resources and other oceanographic characters, using remote-sensing techniques, should be monitored in order to maintain security within the territorial waters and EEZ belongs to Sri Lanka.  Due to the unavailability of a research vessel, suitably equiipped for deep-sea explorations, government has to always depend on the facilities available in developed countries (e.g. Norway, China, etc.), which may result in severe drawbacks, especially with respect to the security of natural resources and their sustainable utilisation.  The assistance provided by the developed countries for oceanographic research should be dealt with care and suspicion. This is  because such programmes may have hidden agendas, that may become a threat to country’s security. For example, by using remotely operated devices, which generate ultrasonic sounds similar to those created by small pelagic fish moving in shoals, which attract large predatory fish to find their prey, economically important predatory fish (e.g. tuna, sharks and other large pelagic fish) could be attracted towards fishing gear attached with such devices operated from vessels anchored even outside the country’s EEZ or remote sensing equipment operated from the coastal belt, where they oocupy coastal land and have access to coastal resources of Sri Lanka. To overcome such problems, Sri Lanka should take necessary steps to invest on establishing a “National Oceanographic Institution” with a well-equipped research vessel suitable for deep-sea investigations and dedicated for continuous oceanographic expeditions and to strengthen the coast-guard to keep track of all destructive coastal activities. A well-equipped and dedicated marine research vessel would enable any marine scientist in the country, irrespective of their affiliations, to use their expertise for oceanographic expeditions in order to help the country to identify and explore the available marine resources and their current status (over or under exploited or unexploited), ocean functions that control their availability, quantity and quality and to develop suitable strategies for their sustainable utilisation and management.  Such a dedicated oceanographic institution would help Sri Lanka to provide an advanced practical training on fisheries and oceanography, for those who are interested in expanding their scientific knowledge on marine resources and oceanography. This would allow the trained personnel to be involved in exploration and harnessing of ocean resources.  An expansion of the boundaries for fisheries and marine science education would help Sri Lanka to use fish and other marine resources effectively, in order to achieve its future socioeconomic and sustainable development goals.

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උතුරුආකාස මල

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උතුරුආකාස මල සුභ නිමිති හද පෙවූ

සදාදරණීය මැඩම්,

ගත අයා සය වසක් විඳි නුඹේ ඒ               සෙවණ

සිත පුරා ගිලන් වූ ඔසු කැවූ ඉසි                              දසුන

අත දරා වැටෙන හිස කුළුණැසින් පිසු                  උවන

වත පුරා දුවන සෙනෙහෙන් ගොතමි මේ       හසුන

දුන් අකුරු හරඹ ලෝ දික් විජය                     ලබන්නට

පුන් මිනිස් බවට නුඹෙ බැරිය සම             කරන්නට

සුන් කරන අනීතිය කෙසර නද                     අසන්නට

කන්ද නුඹ හිස් නවමි අසිරිමත් කොඳු             පෙළට

මිතුරු සයුරත පුරා මැව් සිහින                          අවුර වූ

සතුරු රළ සිත් මරා වියරුවෙන්                     සිනහ වූ

හතුරු වූ සඳ එදා වැඩ බිම ම                             උරණ වූ

උතුරු ආකාස මල සුභ නිමිති හද                         පෙවූ

දුව පනින ලොව බලන සිප් දරන                          වත්මනින්

සුව බරිත පිපුණු හෙට දිනට පා                        ඔසවමින්

නව දිවිය අරුණ විඳිනෙම් නිතින්                      බබළමින්

මුව පුරා හඬ නගමි නිබඳ මට නුඹ                              මවුන්

උපනුපන් දරු පෙළක කුස නො හොත් මව්          ලෙසින්

පුතණු පෙම් හද පුරා දුටිමි පජපත්                          වෙසින්

සිතනු බැරි සිප්සලක් නුඹ නොමැති මන                ඇසින්

පතනු රිසි ආයු බෝ නුඹට තිසරණ                          රැසින්

අමාවි සිල්වා

පස්වෙනි පුරුක/ ශිෂ්‍ය කණ්ඩායම

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දෙටු මහා ඇදුරු ගරු ම

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දෙටු මහා ඇදුරු ගරු මැතිනිය රුචිරා
සිප් කිරි පොවා සිසු කැලකට මවක් විනා
එතකුදු නොනැවතී මග නොමගද පෙන්වා
දිගුසිරි පතමි වැජඹෙන්නට නිදුකින් මා

කසුන් අනුරුද්ධ බණ්ඩාර /2008 පුරුක

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සිය දහසක් තෙපලන්ටැති

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සිය දහසක් තෙපලන්ටැති රුවන් වැකි
එක් වැකියක් හද ගැඹුරේ රැඳුණ හැටි
කුල්ලක් වන්ට රොඩු බොඩු හැම පොලනු හැකි
පෙරණයක් නොවනු යහ ගුණ දම් හලනු හැකි

මින් විදු, සිඳු විදු නෞකා පරදා
සිප් සිඳු සැඩ වුව ද ඒ හැම පරදා
ඉරුනට රුවල් නෑ නැංගුරම ලෑවේ එදා
නැවියෙකි දක්ෂ ලෙස යාත්‍රා කෙරුව සදා

සිඳු විදු පීඨ නම රැන්දූ ඒ තරුව
සැලකුවෙ පීඨයට ලෙස කුස වැදු දරුව
හැම හදකම කෙටුනා ඔබෙ රුවන් රුව
ආයුබෝවන් අපෙ සිත්ගත් ගුරු තරුව

M.D.M ෆාසිල්
නවවන පුරුක/ ශිෂ්‍ය කණ්ඩායම

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දස දහස් ගණන් සිසු

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දස දහස් ගණන් සිසු
කැල නුවන් පාදමින්
මෙතෙර නොව එතෙරටත්
නැණ නුවන් දල්වමින්
විදු බිමක් නවමු ලෙස
රුහුණ සරසවි බිමට
තිළිණ වූ යාමයක
සෙවනැල්ල වී නිතින්
විදු නැණම බෙදන්නට
මුළු දිවිය වෙහෙස වූ
අමිල වූ ගුරු මවට
පුදමි තුති සෙනෙහසින්

එච්. එම්. සී. ප්‍රියදර්ශණී
නවවන පුරුක/ ශිෂ්‍ය කණ්ඩායම

# data[].attributes.body
දහසක් පැතුම් පොදි බැඳන්
පැමිණි මේ සරසවි ගමනේ
අධ්‍යාපනයෙන් සුසැදෙන්නට
සිප් කිරි පෙවූ නුඹ මවකි
මේ දූ පුතුන්ට
හදවතේ මියෙනා තුරා
ඔබෙන් ලද පන්නරය
අත්වැලක් වූවා දිනන්නට
ජීවිතේ....
යෙහෙන් වැජඹේවා ගුරු මව්නි
සදා ණයගැතියි ඔබට

කේ.පී.ඩී. ගුණතිලක
නවවන පුරුක/ ශිෂ්‍ය කණ්ඩායම

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Dear Madam,

Thank you for your endless patience, motivation and persistence. You helped me become the person I am today!

Good Bye to a professor, who has been less of a supervisor and more of a second parent …..

D.M.A. Edirisinghe
2007 Batch

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By -Sarath Mahinda Wijerathna, 2009 batch

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By Chamith Ravi Bandara - 1st batch of FMST

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හැරවුම් ලක්ෂ

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හැරවුම් ලක්ෂය

සුවහසක් සිහින පොදි බැඳ රුහුණුපුර සරසවියට පිවිස
දුටුවා හැදීන්නා ඒ මාහැගි චරිතය දස වසක් පුරාවට
ළබැඳි හදින් උකහා ගතිමි දුන් ඔවදන් හා මගපෙන්නුම් නොමදව
නොසිතු ලෙසක මා දිවි මගේ හැරවුම් ලක්ෂය වූවාය ඔබ
කෙලෙසක පෙරළමිද මා සිතැගි සියල් ඔබ ගැන තෙළිතුඩ අගට
කැටිකොට නමුදු පවසමි ඒ සියල්ලම -
මා මවුනට දෙවැනි වුවත් ඔබ
මවක ලෙදින් බැබලූවා මා හා පරපුරක දිවිමග
ණයගැතියකු නොවී ඔබ කළ මෙහෙවරට
නොතබමි තිතක් ඇරබමි මග අත්වැල් බැදීන
නිතින සිතින් ළග රැදෙමින් පතනෙමි සුඛිත දිගාසිරි ඔබගේ නව දිවිමගට

සනුජා රණසිංහ

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දශක හතරක් යනු සුළු පටු කා

# data[].attributes.body
දශක හතරක් යනු සුළු පටු කාලයක් නොවේ ...
සිසු පරපුරු කිහිපයකි. ඒ සා විශාල කාලයක් 
අඛණ්ඩව තම සිසුදරුවන් විශයෙන් පෝෂණය කිරීමට 
ආචාර්යතුමියකට හැකි වේ නම්, කුමන විෂය ක්ෂේත්‍රයක වුවද එය ප්‍රාතිහාර්යයකි 
සිසුපරපුරෙහි, රටෙහි දැයෙහි වාසනාවකි.

මහාචාර්ය රුචිරා කුමාරණතුංගයන් යනු ඒ සා දීර්ඝ කාලයක් සිසුදරුවන්, පාඨකයින් නුවණින් පෝෂණය කල දිරිය කතකි 
ජාතියේ පිනට පහල වූ අතිදක්ෂ සරසවි ඇඳුරුතුමියකි 
ඒ තරම් කාලයක් ඇයගෙන් දැනුම ලැබූ 
ඇගේ ලියවිලි කියවූ අපි ද ඒ පිනෙහි කොටස්කරුවෝ වෙමු 

පුරා වසර හතළිහක් තිස්සේ ශිෂ්‍ය අපට, රටට 
දුන් ඒ අපුර්ව සේවය වෙනුවෙන් සත්තකින්ම එතුමිය,
කිසිවක් බලාපොරොත්තු වුයේ නැත 
මේ වෑයම එතුමිය අපට, රටට දායාද කළ දෙයින් 
අල්පමාත්‍රයක් හූ පෙරළා නැවත ඇය වෙනුවෙන් පුදකිරීමටයි 

තවද, ධීවර සහ සාගර විද්‍යා හා තාක්ෂණ පීඨයේ 
සිසුපරපුර, ඇඳුරු මඩුල්ල, අනධ්‍යන කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය 
සදහටම ඇයට ණයගැතිය, මන්ද එහි "නිර්මාතෘවරිය" ඇය නිසා නොව 
එයට සැබෑම ජීවය දුන් හුස්ම පොද 
මහාචාර්ය "රුචිරා කුමාරණතුංගයන්" නිසාමය    

සිසු කැල/ 2006 

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 ප්‍රශස්ත නොගයමි, ඒ 

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ප්‍රශස්ත නොගයමි, ඒ සියලු ප්‍රශස්තයන්
සරසවිය තුළ ජීවමාන සත්‍යයක් නිසා
වෙහෙස නොදැනුනු, හුදු ආත්ම තෘප්තියට
ඔබ්බෙහි පැතු හෙටක්
ජීවිතය සොයමින් දැනුම හඹායන ලෝකයට
මඟ විවර කළ ආලෝකයක්
විරල මුත් පසන් වූ කාන්තා පෞර්ෂය
ඇස් අග ජීවමාන කළ අරුතක්
ලියවූ නොලියවූ අපිරිමිත අමිල සැබෑවූ සිත් නිමැවුම්
අත්තිවාරම් වී ගොඩනැගෙන හැටි උදාරෙන්
දකින සැනසුමෙන් විරාමයට යන්න
ඒත් විවේකයක් ගන්න කියන්න බෑ
ඇත්තම හිතට නම් ඔබ දන්නා
ඒ විවේකය සරසවියටනම් ඉඩෝරයක්
වැස්සකට තෙමෙන්න බැරි හැමදාම
වචන කරන්න බැරි හිතේ ගෞරවය එක්ක
පැතුම සුව විශ්‍රාම දිවියක් ආදරණීය මැඩම්ට

එරංගි හීන්කෙන්ද

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Dear Madam,
You are one of persons who influenced me to become who I am today. You inspired me, encouraged me to overcome my fears for doing best for every challenges in my life.
You are the leader of today’s young minds and tomorrow’s bright future.  Thank you so much for everything you have done for all of us.
Congratulations on your retirement!!! I wish you all the very best for the coming years.

-Kshanika Piyumi

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අරලිය නෑ සුවඳ 

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අරලිය නෑ සුවඳ

ඒ මල් පරවුණ දාට

නෑ තරු එලිය

පුන් සඳ පෑයූ දාට

ගඟ නැහැ සොඳුරු

ගං දිය ගැලූ දාට

"පාළුයි සරසවිය පාළුයි"

ඇඳුරුතුමියනි ඔබ සමුගත් දාට

චමිත් රවී බණ්ඩාර / පලවන පුරුක

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ඈ හට අතඹුලකි සාගර විද්‍යා

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ඈ හට අතඹුලකි සාගර විද්‍යා 	විෂය 
අමිලයි අනන්තයි ඒ විෂයට කල 	මෙහෙය  
නෑ කිසි සැකක් ඈ ලක්දිව 	සුපතලය 
"පීඨය" බිහි කරපු පින පමණක් 	ඇතිය 

වරදක් දුටුව විට පුපුරන වෙඩි 	මුරය 
එවැනි විටකදී ගිනි ඇවිලෙන 	සුළුය 
පිරිමින් පරාදයි තේජස ඇගේ 	සිත්කළුය 
එඩිතර ඇඳුරුතුමියයි ඈ අපදුටු 	අයෝමය

අපමණ සිසු කැලක් හට දැනුමෙන් 	පෝෂණය 
දීමෙන් කැප කළා ඇගේ මුළු 	ජීවිතය 
ඇගයිය යුතුය ඇගේ සේවය 	අතිගරුය 
රුහුණේ අමර රන් නාමය "ප්‍රොෆෙසර් රුචිරාය" 

චමිත් රවී බණ්ඩාර / පලවන පුරුක   

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University of Ruhuna has benefitted immensely from Professor Ruchira Cumaranatunga’s dedicated service. She has given a New Faculty to the University and a new Generation of Scientists to Sri Lanka. 
Thank you, Professor,
and 
Thank you, the staff members and students for organizing the wonderful farewell for her.
Dhammike Dissanayake,
Department of Chemistry,
University of Colombo.

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නියගයද මහ වැසිද අනෙක් නෙක උවදුරුද
පරදවා වැඩෙන්නට ගසක් සේ පල බරව
සෙවනැල්ල මෙන් සිටිය අත් නොහැර කිසි විටක
දිරිය දුන් නුබ මවකි සිප් කිරෙන් අප හැදුව

ගුරු තරුව මග පෙවූ දස දහස් සිසු කැලට
කෙලෙස ගොනු කරන්නද වදන් නුඹෙ මෙහෙවරට
ණය ගැතියි අප සැවොම ගුරු මවුනි නුඹෙ නමට
පතන්නෙමි දිගාසිරි මවුනි නුඹෙ දිවි මගට

මුදිත් වීරබද්දන

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By - Hasanka Premarathne
12 th  Batch