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| Sunday, 3 July 2005 |
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Pre-tsunami, the island's fleet size was already unsustainably large, director general of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, G. Piyasena said. In the event of the pledges of NGOs and donors being completely fulfilled, an excess of over 2,000 traditional craft and 2,200 FRP boats in the coastal fishery compared to the pre-tsunami fleet, would result.
But according to an official of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (MFAR) statistics, of 17,900 fishing craft destroyed by the tsunami, 3,100 fishing craft of assorted sizes have been replaced.
There is a lack of coordination between MFAR and the NGOs in doling out fishing craft. The FAO has urged all those in the fisheries sector to participate in the joint FAO-MFAR coordination mechanism in an effort to resolve this issue.
Recent data collected show an over-replacement of fishing craft in the districts of Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Ampara, Batticaloa and Jaffna, the Trincomalee district being the exception. These districts are likely to see an increase in Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic FRP and traditional fishing craft compared to the pre-tsunami situation.
Some NGOs have responded positively to Ministry concerns and have drastically cut down on the provision of new boats. These include Sewa Lanka and British Red Cross. CORDAID is planning to introduce an awareness raising campaign to inform fishermen regarding sustainable resources and ecosystem management as a result of consultations with MFAR.
Fishermen say that the tsunami took with it the next generation of fish stocks. But this has not been proved, according to former FAO advisor in Rome, Henry Gunawardena. Research had already indicated signs of over-fishing in many coastal fisheries before the tsunami. Fishermen had started resorting to smaller and smaller mesh nets to target dwindling stocks.
A study supported by FAO in 2003 shows that in areas excluding the north and east the increase in coastal fish production has been marginal, from 130,000 tonnes in 1987 to 140,000 tonnes in 2002, although the number of fishermen in the coastal fishery almost doubled over that period.
Piyasena said that the NGOs who eye assisting the tsunami hit fisher folk should be encouraged to finance the building of multiday fishing craft and such craft should be gifted to groups of fishermen or to fisheries cooperatives. Director of Tropic Fishery (Pvt) Ltd, Roshan Fernando says that longlining should be introduced to fishermen if coastal fisheries are to be conserved.
Sri Lanka has about 18 registered boatyards and six large ones. Most of
the island's multiday craft are built here. Tropic Fishery is one of the
largest exporters of fish. Its fleet consist of proven sea-worthy crafts
from Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan at half the price of Rs 20 million to Rs 25
million. Fernando says some of these boats are made of wood and is easy to
maintain.
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