World Aquaculture Magazine - June 2020

WWW.WA S.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2020 17 and having a good laugh about my (Uncle Elmo’s) snoring during the nights that I spent at Professor Sena’s house. I shall miss you Sir, the great Scientist, Teacher, Mentor and above all my true Friend. May the Noble Holy Triple Gem bless you and guide you in this eternal path of Samsara, until you attain the Supreme Bliss of Nibbana. —Elmo Weerakoon (Sri Lanka) • My association with Professor Sena S. De Silva is for more than four decades (from 1973), when he resumed duties in the Department of Zoology at University of Kelaniya. He taught me fisheries biology and oceanography, which made the foundation for my later achievements and which helped me to reach my present status within academia as a fisheries scientist. He was an exceptionally good teacher, mentor and a brilliant researcher. Professor Sena was always a good listener to all students’ grievances and was never a dictator. I am grateful to Professor Sena for all the guidance and help offered to me. He not only nurtured us to be good fisheries scientists but taught us to be good leaders, to stand for justice and to get up when we fall. Professor Sena was a kind-hearted person who helped the needy and was the most popular academic in the Faculty of Science, University of Ruhuna. He always refused to have his cup of tea brought to his office room and insisted joining both academic staff and the non-academic staff for a cup in the tea room of the Department of Zoology, where he always listened to problems grievances of people who needed his attention. He helped them in many ways. He was a father to one family in the Dept. of Zoology. We can write several volumes on all the good things about him. We will never ever forget what he has done for all of us as his students at University of Kelaniya and for the development of the Faculty of Science at University of Ruhuna and especially for the Departments of Zoology & Fisheries Biology and the University of Ruhuna as a whole. We never expected him to leave us so soon and his loss will be felt world over for many more years to come. —P. Ruchira T. Cumaranatunga, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology, University of Ruhuna, Matara (Sri Lanka) • I had heard about Sena during my school days as the eldest brother of my school mates, Kapila and Jaliya and the beloved eldest son of Mr. L.C. De Silva, one of the early members of the Sri Lanka parliament, representing Balapitiya electorate where I come from. I spoke to him for the first time when I came to face an interview at the Ruhuna University College where I was selected as a Probationary Assistant Lecturer in Zoology in March 1980. Since then, he has been a very sincere advisor who guided me throughout my academic career. We have shared countless numbers of unforgettable moments. Sir, you were a kind-hearted gentle person who always helped the younger staff and students to be academically sound researchers and most of us achieved our goals. Dear Sir, you will remain in our hearts and thoughts forever. May you attain the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana. —N. Jeewanthi De S. Amarasinghe, Department of Zoology, University of Ruhuna, Matara (Sri Lanka) • I met Professor Sena De Silva in 2008 in Rome when we organized the first FAOmeeting on climate change in fisheries and aquaculture. On that occasion Sena made a challenging presentation on the implications of climate change for aquaculture and we engaged in a long discussion on the implications for the sector globally. So, we ended up working together on a global review on climate change and aquaculture that was published by FAO in 2009. Meeting Sena and learning from his diverse and rich understanding of aquaculture, his insights into the future of the sector and the role Asia played was a tremendous opportunity for me coming from Latin America. I remember with special affection an international workshop of the Asia Pacific Fisheries Commission (APFIC) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, his native country in May 2008. On that occasion he invited us to his family home to have a local-style shrimp dinner, eating with our hands and sharing the beautiful colors and flavors that were on the table. I have learned a lot from Sena, and I have tried to pass this knowledge on to my students and colleagues here. I also laughed a lot with him and I can remember his laugh very vividly! But we also had very heated discussions around some issues until we came to terms and that was the way it was with him. I have lost a tremendous friend, college and mentor and I am already missing him. No doubt world aquaculture will also miss him. —Doris Soto (Chile) • I am very saddened by the passing of Sena. I think my first meeting with Sena took place in the early 1980s as part of one of my visits to Stirling University; Sena was based there as a visiting scientist. In true Sena fashion he first introduced himself and then immediately pro- ceeded to tell me how the IDRC project that was just getting started in Sri Lanka needed to be improved, which for some reason set the stage for a long series of follow-up activities and, more importantly, an enduring collaboration and friendship between us. Sena was a man of wide-ranging interests. I always joked with Sena that he had to decide whether he was a fish nutritionist or a reservoir/inland fisheries type or whatever!! He of course always disregarded this advice and carried on doing both in his “full steam ahead” mode. Our collaboration con- tinued into a variety of other realms, both IDRC and other regional/ international projects, particularly throughout much of Asia, including work with a variety of other Asian scientists on creating the Asian Fisheries Society, in NACA, FAO and of course leading to a variety of publications, meetings and the full gamut of international fisheries development efforts. Sena was a long-time professional colleague and most importantly a friend. Mostly I will remember Sena as someone who really cared and worked awfully hard in pursuit of this caring! Sena will be missed! —Brian Davy, Vancouver Island (Canada) • A colleague at FAO reminded me that people meet one another in this life for a reason. Well, Sena was certainly one of those who I was privileged to first meet in early 1980 during his post-doc at Stirling University. Strange, a Sri Lankan in Scotland initiated me to the joys of a good single malt! Sena was a great teacher who by example taught me how to apply oneself and skillsets to new opportunities to promote aquaculture development. We met on the conference/ workshop circuit scores of times and true to form, he was always there, sharing his vast knowledge and lessons with others. Sena’s D.Sc. award set my benchmark. Sena, thank you for the opportunity to know you and for the experiences and knowledge you shared with me and many others. He will be sorely missed. —Krishen Rana (Scotland) —Compiled by Rohana Subasinghe (Sri Lanka)