Professor H. P. C. Shetty (17 May 1930 - 11 November 2015) was the first Director of Instruction of the College of Fisheries Mangalore, established in 1969, the first such College in India, thereby laying the foundation for fisheries education. He was responsible for setting the syllabus and developing the campus of the College in Mangalore. He was involved in replicating the Mangalore Fisheries College model elsewhere in India and even abroad. As an Aquaculture Consultant to FAO, Rome, he prepared the curriculum for post-graduate degree programmes in Nigeria, Brazil and the Philippines.

Born on 17 May, 1930, Prof. Shetty was a student of St. Aloysius College, Mangalore. He did two post-graduate degrees (M.A and M.Sc) in Zoology and Biology from Madras Christian College. On completing his studies in 1956, Prof. Shetty began his career as Officer-in-Charge of Mahanady Estuarine Fisheries Research Investigation, Odisha. Working in different capacities at the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, he led the Documentation Centre, Riverine and Lacustrine Division and the All India Coordinated Research Project on Carp Spawn Prospecting and Collection Techniques. After a short stint as Vice-Chancellor of University of Agriculture Sciences, Bangalore in 1989, Prof. Shetty worked abroad in different capacities as fisheries consultant to Government of Cambodia, senior aquaculturist, FAO and inland fisheries advisor to International Mekong Committee, Bangkok. His contribution to research, education, training and policy issues in fisheries over a period of more than 40 years has been recognised on a global basis. He has been executive councilor of Asian Fisheries Society and founder-chairman of its Indian Branch. Having participated in several national and international conferences, Prof. Shetty has to his credit over150 research papers and several manuals and reports. He is the recipient of Asian Fisheries Award conferred by the Asian Fisheries Society. He has served on several national and international committees and advisory boards on fisheries.

Recognising his outstanding lifetime contribution to fisheries, particularly in the field of education, he was awarded the Doctorate of Science (Honoris Causa) by the University of Animal & Fishery Sciences, Kolkata, in 2009. The latest responsibility he had taken on was to promote the Pillay Aquaculture Foundation in memory of his one-time senior, Dr. T.V.R. Pillay. He remained its lifetime Patron.

Prof. Shetty is survived by his wife, daughter, two sons, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Professor H. P. C. Shetty, the doyen of fisheries education, administration and research, passed away in Mangalore on November 11, 2015. Our sincere condolences go to Prof. Shetty’s family.