The Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology at university of Ruhuna is the only one of its kind within the whole University system of Sri Lanka administered through the University Grants Commission. Establishment of this Faculty is a historic event within the higher education system of Sri Lanka and also in the University of Ruhuna and this is the first step towards a major plan to establish a higher education institute for Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology. Sri Lanka being an island in the Indian Ocean, not much emphasis has been given in the past, for development of primary, secondary and tertiary education in the fields of Fisheries & Marine Sciences. Not much scientific explorations of the sea and about its living and nonliving resources, have been launched in the past by Sri Lankans, due to the scarcity of research institutes well equipped for such purposes and with qualified scientists with formal training to handle such important tasks. In order to sustainability utilize the fish resources and other marine resources, properly designed and far sighted research programs should be conducted, for which well-trained scientists in relevant fields are a prerequisite.
University of Ruhuna was able to introduce, this much needed Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology,
to the system in Sri Lanka, primarily due to the hard-work of the dedicated staff of the Dept. of Fisheries Biology,
with the fullest cooperation from the Vice Chancellor, Professor Ranjith Senarathne. Location of the University of Ruhuna,
facing the Indian Ocean and in close proximity to two fishery harbors, viz. Dondra & Mirissa also supported this mission.
The Faculty was gazette in October, 2005; first batch of undergraduates commenced the BSc degree programe in Fisheries and Marine Sciences
on 9th of November 2006, after the ceremonial inauguration held on 8th November 2006. On this special occasion,
several persons were remembered and felicitated due to various reasons. First and the most important out of them is Professor Sena S. De Silva,
who was the founder Professor of Zoology at University of Ruhuna. He introduced Fisheries Science into the Zoology curriculum at
University of Ruhuna. His dedication to Fisheries Science research and education, enabled him to first establish a sub department of
Fisheries Biology under the Department of Zoology in 1986 and then a department of Fisheries Biology in the Faculty of Science in 1988.
Another person was remembered is Prof. Kapila Dahanayake. He is the first person to propose at a meeting of the Natural Resources Committee
of NSF that a Faculty or an Institute for Marine Sciences should be established at the University of Ruhua.
This was in response to a recommendation made by a former Minister for Science and Technology, Hon. Batty Werakoon,
to establish such an institution in Sri Lanka. This proposal was forwarded to the Senate and to the Council of the University of Ruhuna,
which responded positively and following members were appointed as Prof. R.H. Wijenayake, Prof. Ananda Gunathilake, Dr. N.P. Wijeyananda,
Prof. D. Athapaththu, Prof. M.P. De Silva, Dr. D.S. Jayakody, Dr. P. Gunaratne and Prof. P.R.T. Cumaranatunga.
The Dream of establishing a Faculty for Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology had Prof. P.R.T. Cumaranatunga wouldn’t have become a
reality, if not for the generous financial assistance, which is nearly Rupees 120 million given through Coastal Ecology and Marine Sciences
Programes of the SAREC and SIDA of Sweden, for capacity building in the Department of Fisheries Biology and for marine research activities.