The department ever since its inception had been concentrating both in basic and applied research on various fields of aquatic biology and fisheries. This was the first University department in the state to start experiments to culture and breed important estuarine food fishes and was the pioneer research institution to demonstrate artificial manuring of fish ponds and to conduct detailed studies in breeding, feeding and culture of brackishwater food fishes such as mullets, milkfish and pearl-spot. The work of exploring the continental shelf and charting out the fishing grounds of the southwest coast of India was pioneered by this department. One of the important areas in basic research, taxonomy, was, and it still is, a major field of research of the department; the department has to its credit the largest number of new species of marine organisms described from India, particularly marine parasites

The major areas of research the department is concentrating are, Aquaculture, Aquatic biodiversity, Aquatic ecology, Aquatic microbiology, Aquatic pollution and toxicology, Aquatic taxonomy, Estuarine, freshwater and marine biology, Fish and shellfish biology, Fish genetics, Fish and shellfish parasitology/pathology, Fish haematology, Histology and histopathology of fish, Mangrove ecology, Marine chemical ecology, Molecular stress response in fish and shellfish and Trophic modeling of ecosystems.

“The following are the links/contact details of supervising teachers attached to this department/centre”

1. Prof. V. Jayaprakas
2. Prof. Tresa Radhakrishnan
3. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
4. Dr. K. Padmakumar
5. Dr. Pramod Kiran, R.B.
6. Dr. A. Biju Kumar

Research supervisors (Retired)
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1. Prof. P. Natarajan Ph.D., D.Sc., F.N.A.A.S (Address: Professor and Director CATER), Ambo University, Ambo, Ethiopia. e-mail:drpnatarajan123<at>gmail.com

2. Prof. K. Dhevendaran Ph. D., D. Sc. (Address: Professor, Sasthra University, Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu.  e-mail:  dheven.k<at>gmail.com)

3. Prof. S.D. Ritakumari (Address: Rita Niva, Kanakakkunnu Lane, Museum, Trivandrum)

4. Dr. T. Vasudevan Nayar (Scientific Officer (Rtd.),  Karthika, Chittalloor, C.P. Nagar, Muttada, PO, Trivandrum

External Supervisors

1. Prof. P.K. Abdul Azis (Vice Chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh; e-mail: vcamu<at>amu.ac.in)

2. Dr. A.P. Lipton (Principal Scientist, VRC of CMFRI, Vizinjam, Trivandrum,)
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