Focus of Research :
- Finfish Breeding & Genetics
- Finfish mariculture
- Cetaceans (Marine mammals – Whales, Dolphins & Porpoises)
Background :
After taking graduation in Veterinary Science (2003) and post-graduation in Animal Genetics and Breeding (2005), I have been working in ICAR-CMFRI since 2009. I am currently working as Principal Scientist in the division of mariculture at Mandapam Regional Centre. I have been working on finfish breeding and seed production particularly cobia, silver pompano, Indian pompano, green tiger shrimp and marine ornamental fishes. For the first time in the country, two species of high value marine finfishes viz., Cobia and Silver Pompano have been successfully bred under captive conditions in Mandapam. Genetic management of breeding populations and production of genetically improved high quality marine finfish seed are the major research areas. I have also acquired expertise in Cetacean biology and species identification.
Education :
- PhD (2015) Animal Genetics & Breeding, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai
- MVSc (2005) Animal Genetics & Breeding, ICAR-NDRI (Deemed University), Karnal, Haryana
- BVSc (2003) Veterinary Science, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai
Current Research Projects :
| No | Title | Funded By |
| 1 | Captive breeding and seed production of important finfishes, shellfishes, other invertebrates and seaweeds for sustainable mariculture, fisheries enhancement and conservation | CMFRI |
| 2 | Development of sustainable mariculture practices through technological Innovations in sea cage and coastal farming | CMFRI |
| 3 | Development of seed quality indices for farmed marine finishes | CMFRI |
| 4 | Socio-Economic Impact Evaluation of Mariculture Technology Interventions | CMFRI |
| 5 | All India Network Project on Mariculture | ICAR |
| 6 | All India Network Project on Ornamental fish seed production (ICAR) | ICAR |
| 7 | Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan programme | ICAR |
| 8 | Development of seed production technology for the high value marine food fish, the Giant Trevally, Caranx ignobilis to enhance the seafood production and nutritional security | DBT, GoI |
| 9 | Sea ranching of green tiger shrimp (Penaeus semisulcatus) post-larvae (PL) in Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu, for sustainable shrimp production (DoF, GoI) | DoF, GoI |
Awards & Recognitions :
- 2024 - Award of Certificate for developing a technology on Production of designer clown fishes through captive breeding by ICAR
- 2024 - Award of Certificate for developing a technology on Integrated-Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) of seaweed and fish farming in cages by ICAR
- 2021 - Award of Excellence in Fisheries Sector by NFDB, Govt. of India for the marine fish seed rearing centre M/s MSR Aqua Pvt. Ltd. Unit-II, Konapapapeta, East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh established through a project by Mandapam Regional Centre of ICAR-CMFRI
- 2017 - Nominated Member in the National Working Group (NWG) of ICAR-CMFRI on Marine Genomics, Marine Finfish breeding and Marine fish farming
- 2017 - Best paper presentation award at the National Seminar and V Annual Convention of Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology, Bhubaneshwar organized by Society for Veterinary Sciences and Biotechnology
- 2010 - Letter of appreciation by The Director General, ICAR for achieving the successful breeding and spawning of cobia and silver pompano for the first time in the country
- 2005 - Merit Certificate by National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal for the best academic performance in Animal Production sector during post-graduation
Publications:
- Sumithra T G, Sharma S R K, Suresh G, Ebeneezar S, Anikuttan K K, Rameshkumar P, Sajina K A, Tamilmani G, Sakthivel M, Thomas T and Gopalakrishnan A (2024). Deciphering the microbial landscapes in the early life stages of a high-value marine fish, cobia (Rachycentron canadum, Rachycentridae) through high-resolution profiling by PacBio SMRT sequencing. Aquaculture, 582 pp. 1-14. ISSN 1873-5622
- Ebeneezar S, Sharma S R K, Vijayagopal P, Sebastian W, Sajina K A, Tamilmani G, Sakthivel M, Rameshkumar P, Anikuttan K K, Varghese E, Lingaprabu D, Jeena N S, Sumithra T G, Gayathri S, Iyapparaja N G and Gopalakrishnan A (2023). Full-length transcriptome from different life stages of cobia (Rachycentron canadum, Rachycentridae). Scientific Data, 10 pp. 1-11. ISSN 2052-4463
- Rameshkumar P, Thirumaliselvan S, Raman M, Remya L, Jayakumar R, Sakthivel M, Tamilmani G, Sankar M, Anikuttan K K, Menon N, Saravanan R, Ravikumar T T, Iyapparaja N G, Krishnaveni N, Muniasamy V, Batcha S M S and Gopalakrishnan A (2023). Monitoring of Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) of Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) along the Gulf of Mannar, India using in-situ and satellite observations and its impact on wild and maricultured
finfishes. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 188 pp. 121. ISSN 1879-3363 - Anjusha M, Prakash S, Kathirvelpandian A, Sakthivel M, Kalaiselvi N and Suresh E (2023). Estimation of repeatability and phenotypic correlation of reproductive traits in zebrafish Danio rerio. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 70 (1). pp. 31-35. ISSN 0970 - 6011
- Sumithra T G, Sharma S R K, Gayathri S, Ebeneezar S, Reshma K J, Anikuttan K K, Iyapparaja N G, Rameshkumar P, Sakthivel M, Lingaprabu D, Tamilmani G, Vijayagopal P and Gopalakrishnan A (2022). Comparative evaluation of fish larval preservation methods on microbiome profiles to aid in metagenomics research. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 106 (11) pp. 1-17
