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Department of Aquatic Environment Management

Introduction

The Department of Fisheries Environment was established at Fisheries College and Research Institute, Thoothukudi by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in 1977. The department was established with the aim of offering professional education on the aquatic environment, conducting pollution monitoring studies and extending fisheries knowledge to the farming and fishing communities. The major thrust areas of research focuses on pollution monitoring studies in Gulf of Mannar, bioremediation of effluents from aquaculture systems, seafood processing plants, development of soil probiotics in fish/shrimp culture systems, screening and monitoring of occurrence of harmful algal blooms and stranding of mammals in Gulf of Mannar, hydrobiology and biodiversity of inland and coastal waters of Tamil Nadu. Current research programmes in the department are in the fields of utilization of fish waste and drifted seaweeds as fertilizer for Agriculture, water quality management aspects in Penaeus vannamei culture systems and monitoring of pesticide residues in Thamirabharani river belts.

This department offers 7 UG, 12 PG and 10 Ph.D. courses and till date 51 PG students have graduated. The department has successfully developed 3 technologies viz., cost effective white worm (Enchytraeus albidus) production as live food for ornamental fish, vermi composting of seafood processing plant sludge, rapid composting of sea food waste using sugarcane bagasse and transferred to the farming community by conducting several training programmes. Since January 2017, this department has been renamed as Department of Aquatic Environment Management as per the ICAR nomenclature. The department has various lab facilities like UG laboratory, PG laboratory, Algal culture Unit, Environmental Microbiology laboratory and fish compost yard.

The department periodically receives samples from farmers of various districts of the state to understand the prospects of establishing a farm or learn problems in water quality and at times due to sudden mass mortality of cultured fishes/shrimps. The department provides advisory services to the fish, shrimp and ornamental farmers and entrepreneurs, related to soil and water management. The State Fisheries Department also approaches this department with local problems related to mass fish kills in public water bodies.

Objectives

  • To offer B.F.Sc., M.F.Sc. and Ph.D. courses in fisheries environment and to give guidance for research to M.F.Sc. students.
  • To carry out research on hydrobiology and biodiversity of inland and coastal waters of Tamil Nadu.
  • To carry out research on monitoring and impact of pollution on the fishery resources of Gulf of Mannar.
  • To carry out research on water quality management in aquaculture systems.
  • To carry out research on waste water treatment and recycling of wastes.
  • To carry out extension works related to Fisheries Environment

Teaching

Sl.No Course No Course Title Credit Load
1 FS-104 Meteorology, Climatology and Disaster Management 3 (2+1)
2 FS-105 Soil and Water Chemistry 3 (2+1)
3 FS-115 Limnology 3 (2+1)
4 FS-116 Marine Biology 3 (2+1)
5 FS-205 Aquatic Ecology and Biodiversity 3 (2+1)
6 FS-215 Fishery Oceanography 2 (1+1)
7 FS-216 Aquatic Pollution and Coastal Zone Management 3 (2+1)
Total 20 (13+7)

Research Projects

Ongoing Research Projects
Completed Research Projects: 7 nos.

Sl.No Title of the Project Year PI & Co-PI of the Project Funds (in Rs.) Funding Agency
1 Impact of Anthropogenic activities and seasonal variation in plankton biomass in Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve (Sc. No. 14-103-02) 2014-17 PI
Dr.A.Srinivasan
Co-PI
Dr.P.Padmavathy
Dr.S.Aanand
10.50 Lakhs GOMBRT, Ramanathapuram
2 Popularization of cost effective fish compost in Thoothukudi district of Tamilnadu. (Sc. No. 14-103-03) 2014-16 PI
Dr.P.Padmavathy Associate Professor
Co-PI
Dr.A.Srinivasan Chair, SFREM
Dr. S. Aanand Assistant Professor
11.10 Lakhs Part II Scheme State Fisheries
3 Impact of Large Scale Cultivation of Seaweed Culture in Coastal Environment of India (S.C.No. 20102) 2014-16 PI
Dr.A.Srinivasan
Co-PI
Dr.S.A.Shanmugam
Dr.P.Jawahar
Th.N.Jeyakumar
Dr.P.Padmavathy
Dr.S.Aanand
27.12 Lakhs National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), MoEF, Chennai
4 Development of environmental guidelines and operational protocol for sustainable development of cage culture in the reservoirs of Tamilnadu (Sc. No. 14-103-01) 2014-15 Project Supervisor
Dr. G. Sugumar Dean, FC & RI
PI
Dr. P. Padmavathy, Associate Professor
Co-PI
Dr. A. Srinivasan Chair, SFREM
Dr. S. Aanand Assistant Professor
12 Lakhs IAMWARM
5 Utilization of fish solid waste for biogas production for indigenous application(S.C.No.30015) 2013-15 PI
Dr.P.Padmavathy Associate Professor
Co-PI
Ms.D.Manimekalai,
Assistant Professor
2.20 Lakhs TANUVAS Research Corpus Fund
6 Assessing the efficiency of aquatic plants and microalgae for reducing water hardness for the culture of ornamental fishes in coastal regions of Thoothukudi (S.C.No. 30027) 2013-15 PI
Ms.D.Manimekalai, Assistant Professor
Co-PI
Dr.A.Srinivasan Chair, SFREM
2.30 Lakhs TANUVAS Research Corpus Fund
7 Environmental factors influencing spatio- temporal variations of fin and shellfish eggs and larvae in Gulf of Mannar 2010 2010-12 PI
Dr.A.Srinivasan
Co-PI
Dr.P.Padmavathy
10.50 lakhs GOMBRT, Ramanathapuram

Outreach/Extension activities

Sl.No Name of the Extension Activities / Program Year No. of Trainings Beneficiary
1 NFDB Training on “Field level water quality issues and their management in aquaculture systems” 2014-15 3 90 nos., Fish farmers, farm technicians, shrimp farmers and ornamental fish farmers
2 Training of Fish Composting 2015-16 4 100 nos., Fish farmers, farm technicians, shrimp farmers and ornamental fish farmers
3 Water Quality management in Aquaculture Systems and World Soil Health Day Celebration 2016-17 2 32 nos., Fish farmers, farm technicians, shrimp farmers and ornamental fish farmers

Infrastructure

Central Instrumentation Lab

A Central Instrumentation Lab was established during March 2015, as a separate \ scheme under the Department of Aquatic Environment Management, for common benefit of PG and Ph.D students, to pursue their research work.

  • The facility was primarily established with the following objectives.
  • To create a common research facility for UG and PG students and also for staff research.
  • To pool up research infrastructure so as to strengthen research capability to maximize research output.
  • To facilitate inter-departmental research programmes, and avoid duplication of research establishment in different departments.
  • To maintain all instruments in proper working condition, for better utilization.
  • This facility provides easy access to all staff and students to carry out their research work unhindered.

Central Instrumentation Lab

Sl.No Name of the Equipment Year of Purchase Company / Make
1 Total Nitrogen Analyzer 2006 Pelican Equipment, Chennai
2 UV-Spectrophotometer 2006 Perkin Elmer, Singapore
3 Inverted Microscope 2007 Nikon
4 Fermentor 2007 Infors AG, Switzerland
5 Thermal Cycler 2015 Eppendoff
6 Horizontal and Vertical Gel Electrophoresis Unit 2015 BIotech
7 Gel Documentation System 2017 Lark Innovative
8 Cooling Centrifuge 2015 Remi Instruments
9 Deep Freezer 2014 Celfrost
10 Weighing Balance 2014 Sartorius
11 Flame Photometer 2015 Esico
12 Portable UV Spectrometer 2016 Hach Systems, USA
13 COD Analyser 2016 Hach Systems, USA
14 BOD Analyser 2016 Hach Systems, USA
15 Portable DO Meter 2016 Labman
16 EC, TDS Analyser 2016 Labman
17 Redox Meter 2016 Labman
18 Bomb Calorimeter 2016 Rajdhani

Achievements

This department has produced 51 postgraduate students and operated 12 projects funded by various States and central government funding agencies such as DBT, TNEB, GOMBRT, TANUVAS Corpus Fund and World Bank Fund with the budget outlay of Rs. 121 lakhs. The department also released 3 technologies for the benefit of farmers and fisher folks. The faculty of this department has published 195 research articles, 133 popular articles, 12 books, 18 manuals and 8 pamphlets. The department conducted 4 national seminars, one ICAR short course, 3 awareness programme, 14 farmers training programme, 9 national training programme for the scientists, teaching assistant, farmers and technicians. The department also monitors water quality during sudden algal blooms, whale stranding and also mass fish kills in local water bodies along the Thoothukudi coast.

Current Focus

  • Pollution monitoring in Gulf of Mannar coastal region
  • Monitoring of pesticide residues in Thamirabharani river belts
  • Utilization of fish waste and drifted seaweeds as fertilizer for Agriculture
  • Water quality management aspects in Penaeus vannamei culture systems and
  • Toxicity studies on fishes in the inland water bodies
  • Impact of climate change in fisheries

Faculty

Name Designation E-mail Mobile No
Dr.P.Padmavathy Professor & Head padmavathy@tnjfu.ac.in 9994981493
Dr. Rani.V Associate Professor rani@tnjfu.ac.in 9443724842
Dr. D. Manimekalai Assistant Professor manimekalai@tnfu.ac.in 9597519518
Mr. C. Manikavasagam Assistant Professor manickavasagam@tnfu.ac.in 8608700921

Publications

List of Research Papers Published from 2012 Onwards

  • Deepika, S. A. Srinivasan, P. Padmavathy and P. Jawahar, 2018. Seasonal variation of phytoplankton diversity in seagrass ecosystem of Mandapam coast of Gulf of Mannar. J.Expt.Zoo.Ind., 21(1): 499 - 506.
  • Lidya Wilwet, Geevaretnam Jeyasekaran, Robinson Jeya Shakila, Balasubramanian Sivaraman and Pandurengan Padmavathy, 2018. A single enzyme PCR-RFLP protocoltargetting 16 S rRNA/ tRNA region toauthenicate fourcommercially important shrimp species in India. Food Chemistry 369-376.
  • Padmavathy .P, Sugumar. G, Aanand .S, Radhakrishnan .K and C.Subash, 2017.Cage culture and its impact on physico – chemical characteristics in selected reservoirs of Tamilnadu. J.Envt. & Ecol., 35(3C):2373-2379.
  • Padmavathy,P. Baskaran Manimaran, A.Srinivasan and D.Manimekalai, 2017. Recycling of sewage phosphorous through Azolla cultivation for biofeed and biofertilizer. Biochem.Cell.Arch.,17(2) : 745-748.
  • Anusuya devi, P., P.Padmavathy, and S.Aanand. 2017. Water quality index – a tool to evaluate suitability of water quality in Poondi reservoir water for drinking. Biochem. Cell. Arch. Vol. 17 (1) : 279-282, 2017.
  • Manimekalai, D., C.S.Purushothaman, A. Vennila , P. Padmavathy, S. Aanand , S. Aruna and A. Srinivasan, 2017. Isolation and Characterization of Phenanthrene Degrading Bacteria from Marine. Environment, Biochem. Cell. Arch.17(1): 229-237.
  • Rani, V., R. J. Shakila, P. Jawahar and A. Srinivasan. 2017. Influence of species, geographic location, seasonal variation and extraction method on the fucoidan yield of the brown seaweeds of Gulf of Mannar, India, Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences: 79(1), 65-71.
  • Manimekalai, D., Padmavathy, P., Aanand, S., and Aruna, S. 2016. Diversity of hydrocarbondegrading bacteria from oil contaminated sites of Mumbai coast, Maharashtra. J. of Exp. Zool. India., 19(2), 1103-1107.
  • Manimekalai, D., Srinivasan, A., Aanand, Aruna, S. 2016. Marine Litter and its impacts on Marine organisms. International Journal of Current Research Vol. 8, Issue, 05, pp.3153631541.
  • Juliet selvarani, A. P.Padmavathy, A.Srinivasan and P.Jawahar, .2016 Bioremediation of municipal wastewater, sewage water and seafood processing plant wastewater using mixed micro algae. J.Envt. & Ecol.,34(4b): 2134-2138.
  • Rani, V. P. Jawahar, R. Jeya Shakila, A. Srinivasan. 2016. Antibacterial activity of some brown seaweeds of Gulf of Mannar, South East Coast of India. J. Pharm. Bio Sci. 4, 4: 1421
  • Poonkodi, A., P.Padmavathy, A.Srinivasan, R.Jeya shakila and T.Aanand, 2016. Water quality characteristics of Litopennaeus vennamei shrimp culture systems in Thoothukudi district. J.Expt.Zoo.Ind., 19(1): 195 -200. ISSN 0972-0030
  • Juliet selvarani, A. P.Padmavathy, A.Srinivasan and P.Jawahar, .2016 Bioremediation of municipal wastewater, sewage water and seafood processing plant wastewater using mixed micro algae. J.Envt. & Ecol.,34(4b): 2134-2138.
  • Kavitha, M, P. Padmavathy*, A. Srinivasan and P. Jawahar, 2016. Spatio-temporal variations in hydrobiology and plankton production in off shore waters of selected fishing grounds of Gulf of Mannar, J.Expt.Zoo.Ind.,19(2):1143 -1150.
  • Manimekalai, D., P. Padmavathy, S. Aanand and S. Aruna, 2016. Diversity of hydrocarbondegrading bacteria from oil contaminated sites of Mumbai coast, Maharashtra. . J.Expt.Zoo.Ind., 19(2): 1103 -1107. ISSN 0972-0030.
  • Rani, V., P. Jawahar and R.Jeyashakila. 2015. Seasonal variation in biomass and distribution of brown seaweeds (Phaeophyceae) in Gulf of Mannar, Tamilnadu, India, The Bioscan 10(3): 1123-1129.
  • Juliet Selvarani A., Padmavathy, P*., Srinivasan A., Jawahar P., 2015. Performance of Duckweed (Lemna minor) on different types of wastewater treatment. Int.J.Fisheries and aquatic studies, 2(4): 208-212.
  • Anusuyadevi,P., P.Padmavathy, A.Srinivasan and P. Jawahar, 2015. Environmental impact of cage culture on Poondi reservoir, Tamilnadu, Curr.world Environ., 101(3):1048 -1054.
  • Velmurugan, P., Srinivasan, A., Athithan, S., Padmavathy.P. Manimekalai D. and T. Anand. 2014. Diversity and seasonal variations of plankton in coastal waters receiving salt pan effluents of Thoothukudui, South east coast of India. Ind. J. Fish. 61(4). 59-66.
  • Rani, V. A.Srinivasan, P.Padmavathy, D.Manimekalai and Karu.Pasupathy. 2013. Utilization of animal wastes for the culture of freshwater rotifer Brachionus spp for fish larval rearing, J. Natcon, Vol. 25(1).