Chamari Dissanayake, defends her Ph.D. thesis
Chamari Dissanayake was a UNU-FTP fellow in the year 2005. She was born in Horana, SriLanka, on February 8, 1973. She received the master's degree in Aquaculture and Fisheries management in March 2004 at the University of Kelaniya, SriLanka. For the past three and a half years, she has carried out her Ph.D. research at the Science Institute, University of Iceland, and been supported by the UNU-FTP (scholarship programme). Her research activity included planning and implementing a marine survey for the main sea cucumber species off the coast of SriLanka.
Chamari's thesis is in the field of sea cucumber fisheries. Sea cucumbers (class Holothuroidea) are a group of marine invertebrates which provide an important source of livelihood for many artisanal fishers throughout the world, particularly for developing countries in the tropical and subtropical regions.Over the past few decades declines have been observed in many sea cucumber populations due to overexploitation and lack of proper management measures. The thesis addresses the stock status of commercial sea cucumber species in the coastal waters of SriLanka and possible management measures to ensure their sustainable utilization.
Opponents were Dr. JörundurSvavarsson, Professor at the University of Iceland, and Dr. Michael Fogarty, a research scientist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, USA. The Ph.D. supervisor of Chamari Dissanayake was Dr. GunnarStefansson, Professor at the Faculty of Physical Sciences, and in the Ph.D committee were also Dr. GudrunMarteinsdóttir, Professor at the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, and Dr. Lorna Taylor, ecosystem modeller.