A Contribution to the limnology of Colombo Lake

This paper records the results of investigations of plankton, benthic fauna and fish fauna carried out between 1957 and 1963. The standing crop of net plankton in the lake was found to be 249.6 Kg/ha. This plankton is not being fully utilized by the fish fauna in the lake. Stocking the lake with a plankton feeder like Chanos chanos (Forskal) is recommended. The figure of 24.37 Kg/ha obtained for the standing crop of bottom fauna in the lake was comparatively low. This indicates that the bottom fauna is being fully utilized by the fish. The introduction and establishment of Tilapia mossambica (Peters) had not wiped out a single indigenous species of fish from the lake that produces about 2,000 lbs. of fish per acre per year. This can be increased by the introduction of a plankton feeder (Chanos chanos), and by further exploitation of existing stock.

Hydrobiology of Colombo (Beira) Lake, 1. Diurnal variations in temperature, hydrochemical factors and zooplankton

An extensive study of the hydrobiology of the Colombo Lake was initiated by the authors in May 1969 as a contribution to the International Biological Program (Productivity of freshwater communities) by the Department of Zoology, Vidyalankara University of Ceylon, Kelaniya. The Colombo Lake often referred to as the Beira Lake covers an area of approximately 160 acres. The water is usually very turbid with a greenish blue appearance due to the presence of large quantities of blue green algae.

Studies on the phytoplankton of inshore and offshore waters off Colombo and some data on the hydrological conditions of these waters

The present paper gives a comparative account of the hydrological conditions and phytoplankton within the Continental Shelf and beyond the Continental Shelf. 54 water samples were taken for hydrological analysis and 18 surface tows for plankton.

Studies on Colombo-curing of mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta)

Results of investigations carried out to improve the process of 'Colombo-curing' of mackerel are presented in this paper. Optimum composition of salt and gorujka puli (malabar tamarind, Garcinia cambogea) to be used in the pickle mixture to give a product of good organoleptic and chemical characteristics have been worked out. Sodium benzoate is used as a preservative against the attack of molds, 'red' etc.

BOBLME ICM Best Practices and Lessons Learned South Asia Workshop, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 28-29 July, 2010

Country overviews of Community Based Integrated Coastal Management (CB-ICM) for Bangladesh, The Maldives, Sri Lanka, India and Southeast Asia. Recommendations for the way forward

Report of the Indian Mackerel Working Group Meeting, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 28-29 May, 2012

Stock structure approaches and consequences of management in the eight member countries. Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) genetic stock studies and workplan

Report of the national stakeholder consultation workshop on Sri Lanka NPOA for the conservation and management of sharks, 03 December, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka

The objectives of the workshop were to; ensure shark catches were sustainable; assess threats to shark populations; identify vulnerable shark stocks; protect biodiversity; improve consultation involving stakeholders; minimize waste a discards and facilitate monitoring and landings data.

Report of the sub-regional workshop to validate the scoping study of nutrient pollution on the coastal and marine systems of South Asia, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 21-22 May, 2014

The workshop agenda included: presentations from collaborative institutions, national governments and resource persons; a draft scoping study on nutrient loading; and an ecosystem approach to pollution management was tested.

A guide to the fisheries of Ceylon

This bulletin has been written primarily to serve as a handbook to the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council at its sessions in Colombo during December 1958. It presents an outline of the fishing industry as found in Ceylon today, in non-technical language so that it may also be understood by laymen. The large gaps in our knowledge are brought out in the section on "resources"; the section on "administration" gives an indication of progress made towards solving the problems of the industry, while sections on "fishing methods" and "utilization of catch" will help us to appreciate the handicaps and difficulties of those concerned with the industry. The Government Administration of the fisheries of Ceylon is being assisted to a considerable extent by the generous gifts of machinery and equipment as well as the loan of skilled technical personnel made by other countries through the FAO and the Colombo Plan. The progress made so far has helped to place the industry in a favorable position for further improvements.

Bibliography on pearl oysters

The preparation of this preliminary list was undertaken to meet the needs of the present investigation of the Pearl Banks, Gulf of Mannar. The recent repopulation of the Pearl Banks has revived interest in Ceylon's pearls and pearl fisheries. Successful fisheries have been held recently and surveys of the Pearl Banks are carried out regularly. The bibliography deals with all aspects of the biology of the pearl oyster, as well as the pearl fisheries. But its scope is limited by the library facilities available at the Fisheries Research Station, the Colombo Museum Library, the University of Ceylon Library and the Library of the Ceylon Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research. Annotation is not possible at this stage, for all publications are not available for reference.

New species of Monogenoidea from fishes of Ceylon

During the stay of the vessel "Ob" (Soviet Antarctic Expedition) at Colombo, May, 1957, the author received from Dr. C. H. Fernando some specimens of different species of fishes from Ceylon, preserved in formalin, as a present for the Zoological Institute (Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R.) New species of Monogenoidea have been found when examining the gills of the fishes received and the present paper deals with their description. The material was preserved in strong formalin which highly condensed the tissues of the parasites. Therefore the details of the anatomical structure in most of the specimens could not be recognized even by means of phase-contrasting equipment. So the description is confined almost exclusively to the chitinoid armature of the haptor and copulatory organ. The terms and the measurements used in this paper are the same as those used previously (Gussev, 1955).

A Review of the parasitic copepods of fish recorded from Ceylon with description of additional forms

The beginning of our knowledge of the copepods parasitic on fish from Ceylon is due to Bassett-Smith (1898 a) who, in a paper on "Further New Parasitic Copepods found on Fish in the Indo-Tropical Region", included seven species collected at Trincomalee and Colombo. Later in the same year, in a paper on "Some New or Rare Parasitic Copepods from the Indo-Tropical Region", he (Bassett-Smith, 1898 b) included three more species from Ceylon. Soon after, more of these parasites were obtained from Ceylon during Herdmann's investigation of the Pearl Banks. From this collection, one lot consisting of eleven species was described by Thompson and Scott (1903) and a second lot consisting of seven species was described by Wilson (1906). At that stage the number of species recorded from Ceylon made up to a total of twenty-eight and there the matter rested for another quarter of a century until, quite by chance, while collecting marine animals on a reef, Mr Kirtisinghe came across a newly dead half-beak with a learned parasite projecting from its body. Since then, in a number of occasional papers (Kirtisinghe, 1932-35, 1937, 1950, 1956, 1960) he has described thirty-eight more species of parasitic copepods from Ceylon. However, his collection included many more species which were put aside for later attention. In the present paper, while dealing with those forms in his collection which he has not recorded or described earlier, he has put together all the known forms of parasitic copepods of fish from Ceylon. A list of the host fishes with their respective parasitic copepods is also provided, types of new species, at present in the author's private collection, will be deposited in the Fisheries Department, Colombo, Ceylon.

Some planktonic diatoms from the Indian Ocean

Collections of phytoplankton were made by Mr. Durairatnamat various stations between latitude 5°S and 25°S and longitude 78° E and 101° E (Fig. 1) from December 1962 to January 1963 during a cruise of the research vessel "Umitaka Maru" belonging to the Tokyo University of Fisheries. This vessel was engaged in work in connection with the International Indian Ocean Expedition (I.I.O.E.). The collections made from these stations (T.G.) were examined at the Fisheries Research Station, Colombo, for the various diatoms present and the findings are reported in this paper.

Introductory address

At the 21st Annual Sessions of the Ceylon Association for the Advancement of Science held at the University of Ceylon, Colombo, the proceedings on one day, 17th December 1965, of its Section D (Biological Sciences) were devoted to a Symposium on Fish Resources of Ceylon. The introductory address was given by Mr. S. S. H. Silva, the Director of Fisheries and the Chairman of the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation at that time.

Resources of the Wadge and Pedro Banks

Sri Lanka's interest in trawler fishing dates back to 1902 when a Colombo merchant attempted to operate a trawler off Sri Lanka's waters. The next attempt was made in 1907. These attempts did not proceed any further. Between 1920 and 1923 a very comprehensive survey of the littoral waters around the island was carried out. One of the principal aims of the survey was to investigate the possibility of trawler fishing in the seas around. Malpas (1926) and Pearson and Malpas (1926) reporting the results of the survey indicated that the Wadge and Pedro banks were the only areas available for commercial trawler operations and indicated that the fish resources in the two banks could be profitably exploited. Commercial exploitation of the Wadge bank commenced in 1928 and a fishery is now firmly established in the bank. The Marine Biologist and the Director of fisheries in their administration reports and Sivalingam and Medcof (1957) and the author (1965) have reported on the progress of the Wadge bank fishery. Some of the trends indicated by an analysis of the records of the commercial trawling operations are further discussed in this paper.