Mr. Sudheera Gunasekara

Name: Sudheera Samarasinghe Gunasekara

Contact: s22gtech@gmail.com , sudheera@nara.ac.lk

Researchgate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sudheera-Samarasinghe-Gunasekara

Google Scholer https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iw64zGYAAAAJ&hl=en

ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9091-9648

Academic qualifications

  • Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Water and Coastal Management (WACOMA), University of Bologna, Italy. (2021).
  • M.Sc. in Integrated Water Resources Management, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. (2018)
  • Postgraduate diploma on Remote Sensing and GIS of Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP), Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun, India. (2012)
  • B.Sc. in Fisheries and Marine Sciences (Special in Oceanography and Marine Geology) (second class upper division), University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. (2011)

Research interests

  • Potential fishing ground forecasting
  • Fisheries Oceanography
  • Fisheries acoustics and stock abundance estimation
  • Remote sensing and GIS applications in coastal and marine areas

Research experience

Scientist - National Institute of Oceanography & Marine Sciences, National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Crow Island, Colombo 15. From June 2014 to present

Scientist - Reservoir water quality and sedimentation study project of National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), Colombo 05. From August 2013 to June 2014

Teaching Experiences

Visiting Lecturer - Department of Fisheries, University of Jaffna (2015-present)

Visiting Lecturer -  Department of Oceanography and Marine Geology, University of Ruhuna (2017-Present)

Supervision of research projects for students following Bachelor of Sciences programs of the University of Ruhuna, University of Jaffna and Rajarata University of Sri Lanka

Research projects

Tuna fishing ground forecasting and fisheries information services (2014-present)

Habitat mapping of sensible ecosystems around Sri Lanka (2016)

Sri Lanka – Norway Bilateral project to improve the management of the fish resources of Sri Lanka (2017-Present)

Workshops/ courses/ seminars/ cruises attended

OTGA-NMDIS: Training Course: The Use of the Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Programme Data, 8 - 10 December 2015, Tianjin, China

RV G.O. Sars,  Barents Sea winter survey by Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Norway, 7-18 February 2017.

OTGA-INCOIS Training Course on "GIS Applications for Coastal Zone Management" during 28 August -1 September, 2017 Organized by International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean) ESSO-INCOIS, Hyderabad, India.

RV Dr. Fridjoft Nansen Ecosystem Survey of Sri Lanka 2018, 23rd June – 14th July 2018.

RV Sally Ride Bay of Bengal oceanographic expedition 26th June - 26th July 2019

Diploma in Drone for coastal management. 27th April -08th May 2020, University of Cadiz, Spain.

Geoscience Data Analysis using Matlab.  13th July -24th July 2020, University of Cadiz, Spain.

Publications

Full papers published in refereed journals and proceedings etc.

  • Dalpadado, P., Arrigo, K.R., van Dijken, G.L., Gunasekara, S.S., Ostrowski, M., Bianchi, G. and Sperfeld, E., 2021. Warming of the Indian Ocean and its impact on temporal and spatial dynamics of primary production. Progress in Oceanography, 198, p.102688.
  • TWS Warnasuriya, MP Kumara, SS Gunasekara, K Gunaalan, RMRM Jayathilaka., 2020. An Improved Method to Detect Shoreline Changes in Small-Scale Beaches Using Google Earth Pro. Marine Geodesy. DOI: 10.1080/01490419.2020.1822478
  • Bandaranayake, K. H. K., Gunasekara, S. S., Bandara, A. P. R., & Haputhantri, S. S. K., 2019. Sword fish catch rates in relation to Sea Surface Temperature and Chlorophyll-A concentration within EEZ Sri Lanka. Working Party on Billfish (WPB) Indian Ocean Tuna Comission, At La Reunion.
  • T.W. S. Warnasuriya, Kuddithamby Gunaalan & S. S. Gunasekara., 2018. Google Earth: A New Resource for Shoreline Change Estimation—Case Study from Jaffna Peninsula, Sri Lanka, Marine Geodesy, DOI: 10.1080/01490419.2018.1509160
  • Gunasekara, S., and Rajapaksha J., 2016.  Coupling Logbooks and Vessel Monitoring System for Investigations of Large Pelagic Fishing Activities by Sri Lanka. Proceedings of 37th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing (ACRS) on the 17th –21st October 2016 at Galadari Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka. URL: http://a-a-r-s.org/acrs/administrator/components/com_jresearch/files/publications/Ab%200489.pdf
  • Rathnasuriya, M.I.G., Gunasekara, S.S., Haputhanthri, S.S.K. and Rajapaksha, J.K., 2016.  Environmental preferences of Billfish in Bay of Bengal: A case study in longline fishery of Sri Lanka., Working Party on Billfish (WPB) Indian Ocean Tuna Comission, At Victoria, Seychelles. URL: http://www.iotc.org/sites/default/files/documents/2016/09/IOTC-2016-WPB14-10_-_Rev_1_-_LKA_-_Env_Pref_Bill_NEIO.pdf

Abstracts

  • Sudheera Samrasinghe Gunasekara, Erwan Garel, David Maria Aguiar Abecasis. 2021. The influence of coastal currents on the movement patterns of Argyrosomus regius (Asso, 1801) along the northern shelf of the Gulf of Cadiz. I International Conference on Water and Coastal Management University of Cadiz, 19th-21st July 2021. Spain.
  • Gunasekara S.S., Haputhanthri S.S.K. 2021. Effect of bait type on catch efficiency  in the Sri Lankan longline fishery operated targeting yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares). 2021. National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Scientific Sessions 2020. January 21, 2021. NARA. Sri Lanka.
  • R.P.P.K. Jayasinghe, S.S. Gunasekara,  S.J.W.W.M.M.P. Weerasekera, R.A.M. Jayathilake, M.G.C.R. Wijesinghe., A.A.U.W.S. Adikari, A. Totland. 2021. Estimation of small pelagic fish stock abundances on the Northeast Shelf of Sri Lanka using acoustic methods. National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Scientific Sessions 2020. January 21, 2021. NARA. Sri Lanka.
  • Gunasinghe, Y. S., Gunasekara, S. S., & Jayasinghe, R. P. P. K. (2019). Abundance and distribution of sea snakes in Sri Lanka. Scientific  Sessions  2019. , At National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Crow Island, Colombo 15, Sri Lanka.
  • Gunasekara S.S., Jayasinghe R.R.P.K., Jens-Otto Krakstad, Atle Totland, 2019. Historical changes in demersal fish stocks abundance and distribution of Sri Lanka. National  Aquatic  Resources  Research  and  Development  Agency  (NARA),  Scientific  Sessions  2019. , At National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Crow Island, Colombo 15, Sri Lanka.
  • Gunasekara, S.S., and Rajapaksha J.K., 2018.  Effect of lunar phase on swordfish (Xiphias gladias) catch rates in the Indian Ocean. Innovative aquatic research towards blue-green economic development NSS-2018At: National Aquatic Resource Research and Development Agency (NARA), Colombo 15, Sri Lanka.
  • Jagath Rajapaksha and Sudheera Gunesekara, 2018.  Thermocline variability and its impact on catch rates of tuna and tuna-like fish species in the Indian ocean. 2nd International Conference of Oceanography of the Bay of Bengal; Emphasis of intra-seasonal oscillations on 11th-12th January 2018 at Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
  • B.K. Kolita Kamal Jinadasa, Kasun R Dalpathadu, T.B.D.T. Samaranayake, Sudheera Samarasinghe Gunasekara., 2017. Selected edible fish in the Puttalam Estuary, Sri Lanka Seasonal variation of heavy metals (Cd, Pb and Hg) in sediments and selected edible fish in the Puttalam Estuary, Sri Lanka. National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Scientific Sessions 2017, At National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Crow Island, Colombo 15, Sri Lanka
  • Gunasekara, S.S., and Rajapaksha J.K., 2017.  Fishing depth prediction for tuna longlines; An improved fishing ground forecasting system for Sri Lanka. National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Scientific Sessions 2017, At National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Crow Island, Colombo 15, Sri Lanka
  • Gunasekara, S.S, Rathnasuriya, M.I.G., 2017. Best Practices in Releasing of By-catch of Sensitive Species in Sri Lankan Tuna Multi-day Fishery. Scientific Sessions of the Sri Lanka Association for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, At National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency, Colombo 15. Sri Lanka, Volume: 23
  • Gunasekara S.S., 2016. Temporal changes of surface chlorophyll in the sea of south of Sri Lanka based on satellite data from 2005 to 2015. NARA Scientific Sessions 2016. NARA, Colombo.
  • S.S. Gunasekara and A.K. Mishra. Mapping the coverage of seagrass meadows of Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay (India) using Landsat ETM+ data, 2014. Proceedings of Peradeniya University International Research Sessions (iPURSE 2014) on 4th & 5th July 2014. University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
  • S.S. Gunasekara and N. Alahacoon. Mapping shoreline changes of selected sites of Jaffna Peninsula using satellite imagery, 2011. Proceedings of International Symposium on Agriculture & Environment-2011. Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka.

Professional memberships

Sri Lanka Association for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (SLAFAR) life member