FAO warns of imminent over-provision of small craft
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and
the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources warn that there is a
risk of over provision of small fishing boats in seven districts in Sri
Lanka. This could contribute to over-fishing and result in long-term
damage to the coastal fisheries resource.
FAO urges all actors in fisheries sector to participate in the
coordination mechanism jointly with the Ministry in an effort to resolve
this issue, FAO Emergency and Rehabilitation Coordinator for Sri Lanka
Mona Chaya said.
Recent data suggests an over-replacement of boats in Kalutara, Galle,
Matara, Hambantota, Ampara, Batticaloa and Jaffna districts. These
districts will likely see an increase in Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP)
and traditional fishing boats compared to fleet sizes before the
tsunami.
Sri Lanka benefited from a generous outpouring of international
support for its tsunami relief effort. An unprecedented large number of
actors including local and international NGOs, donor agencies, private
sector entrepreneurs, groups as well as individual well-wishers both
local and foreign contribute to post-tsunami rehabilitation and
reconstruction in the fisheries sector.
Some NGOs have responded positively to Ministry's concerns and have
drastically cut down on the provision of new boats. These include Sewa
Lanka and the British Red Cross. CORDAID is planning to introduce an
awareness raising campaign to inform fishers regarding sustainable
resource and ecosystem management as a result of consultations with the
ministry.
"The fleet size was already unsustainably large before the tsunami"
said G. Piyasena, Director General of the Dept. of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources. If the pledges by various NGOs and donors are completely
fulfilled, there could be an excess of over 2000 traditional crafts and
2,200 FRP boats in the coastal fishery compared to the pre-tsunami
situation.
Research had already indicated signs of over-fishing in many coastal
fisheries before the tsunami. Fishers 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 north
and east, the increase in coastal fish production has been marginal,
from 130 000 tonnes in 1989 to 142,000 tonnes in 2002, although the
number of fishers in the coastal fishery almost doubled over that
period. |