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Over eighty per cent of the legitimate prawn farmers who are operating between Chilaw and Puttalam lagoon are facing a lean period in the industry due to severe environmental pollution caused by some illegitimate prawn farmers who operate in the area, a statement from the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries of Sri Lanka said.

The Secretary of the Consortium for the Development of Aquaculture said that the main reason behind this unprecedented environmental pollution is that some persons from 1993 to 2001 who received the blessings of politicians in the area had encroached into some reserve lands and are engaged in unauthorised prawn farming having overlooked the environmental damage to the lands belongs to those who engage in legitimate prawn farming.

The aquaculture consortium blames all concerned authorities including the local authorities for allowing these encroaches to freely engage in the prawn farm industry while damaging the environment and leaving the legitimate prawn farmer's livelihood at risks as well.

As a result of this, over 80 per cent of prawn farmers who have been in the industry for a long time are unable to continue with their industry as a result of this severe environmental pollution.

Most of these legitimate farmers are now facing a financial crisis for not being able to discharge their financial obligations to the Banks. The Banks have already resorted to take parate action to recover the loans given to aquaculture industrialists.

The banking authorities have informed the aquaculture farmers that they are no longer in a position to withhold taking action against them.The debt burden due to the encroachment in 1996 was around Rs. 650 million with interest and this had increased to Rs. 1.4 billion by 2002. The government has failed to modernise this aquaculture-based industry as in other parts of the world that is subjected to rapid bio chemical changes. The industry has an overall investment over Rs. 15 billion within the short period with a potential production of over 40,000 metric tons as against the present production of 5,500 metric tons.

The employment generation was 50,000 to 80,000 in the coastal belt itself. The aquaculture industry alone has created over 30 supporting industries but it has shown a serious decline at present.

Government politicians in the area have given an assurance to stop further unauthorised farming and to regularise the present farms if they comply with the regulations.

The FAO has published a document following a satellite survey with NARA that 20,000 acres of prawn farms have been developed in this coastal belt that is over the bearing capacity of the water body.

The operators of prawn farms and their bankers have been negotiating a rehabilitation and restructuring plan together with the concerned authorities such as the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources, NAQDA, NARA, North-Western Provincial Council and the BOI. R. Paskaralingam, Consultant to the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Neomal Perera, MP Puttalam District.

These negotiations have resulted in a Cabinet proposal drafted by the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources to grant relief and help recover the industry.

However none of these proposals has been given effect and all parties concerned are unable to make any progress towards solving the problem.

The Consortium for the Development of Aquaculture (CD), a member of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka has brought to the notice of the Policy Support Unit of the FCCISL about the present crisis situation faced by the prawn farmers in the country and have called upon the FCCISL to help them in protecting the entire livelihood of aquaculture industrialists.

The CDA has appealed to the FCCISL to intervene in this matter and assist them to find at least a tentative solution.

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