Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme for South and Southeast Asia (RFLP) GCP/RAS/237/SPA FINAL REPORT

Transcription

1 Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme for South and Southeast Asia (RFLP) GCP/RAS/237/SPA FINAL REPORT Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (RFLP), Baseline Survey, Sri Lanka Prepared by Management Frontiers (Pvt) Ltd The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme Sri Lanka No , Bauddhaloka Mawatha Colombo 07 April 2011

2 Disclaimer and copyright text This publication has been made with the financial support of the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID) through an FAO trust-fund project, the Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (RFLP) for South and Southeast Asia. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO, AECID, or RFLP. FAO 2013 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO s endorsement of users views, products or services is not implied in any way. All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be addressed to or to copyright@fao.org. FAO information products are available on the FAO website ( and can be purchased through publications-sales@fao.org. For copies write to: FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Athit Road Bangkok Thailand Tel: (+66) Fax: (+66) RAP-Publications@fao.org Bibliographic reference For bibliographic purposes, please reference this publication as: RFLP (2011), Sri Lanka Baseline Survey Report. Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme for South and Southeast Asia (GCP/RAS/237/SPA) Field Project Document 2011/SRL/MIC/02.

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4 Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme for South and Southeast Asia (RFLP) Baseline Survey- Sri Lanka C O N T E N T S Cover Page Page Table of Contents List of Acronyms Tables & Figures Executive Summary i - x Chapter 1 - Introduction (to the project) 1 Chapter 2 - Objectives and Methodology 7 Chapter 3 Description of the Study Area and Overall Situation of the Project Area 24 Chapter 4 District Report-Negombo 4.1 A General Overview of fisheries in Negombo District: 37 Socioeconomic characteristics of the fishing population 4.2 Co-management in Negombo Safety at Sea Post Harvest Fisheries Livelihoods Enhancement and Diversification Micro-Finance Summary and Conclusions 103 Chapter 5 District Report-Chilaw 5.1 A General Overview of fisheries in Chilaw District: 111 Socioeconomic characteristics of the fishing population 5.2 Co-management in Chilaw Safety at Sea Post Harvest Fisheries Livelihoods Enhancement and Diversification Micro-Finance Summary and Conclusions 179

5 Chapter 6 District Report-Puttalam 6.1 A General Overview of fisheries in Puttalam District: 185 Socioeconomic characteristics of the fishing population 6.2 Co-management in Puttalam Safety at Sea Post Harvest Fisheries Livelihoods Enhancement and Diversification Micro-Finance Summary and Conclusions 250 Chapter 7 - General Conclusions, and Recommendations 258 References APPENDIXES APPENDIX - 1: The list of Enumerators APPENDIX - 2: Household Survey Questionnaires - Men - Craft Owner / Crew (English) Women Fisher Folk (English) APPENDIX - 3: Household Survey Questionnaires - Men - Craft Owner / Crew (Sinhala) Women Fisher Folk (Sinhala) APPENDIX - 4: Household Survey Questionnaires - Men - Craft Owner / Crew (Tamil) Women Fisher Folk (Tamil) APPENDIX - 5: APPENDIX - 6: APPENDIX - 7: Sample Fisher Villages: Negombo, Chilaw & Puttalam Fisheries District List of Organizations from which Sample of Women Fisher Folk were selected The list of Key Informants met by the Consultants APPENDIX - 8: Descriptive Analysis Tables Negombo, Chilaw & Puttalam districts

6 List of Tables Page Table 2.1: Target Groups and Methods of Data Collection used 9 Table 2.2: Sample Sizes determined for the Questionnaire Surveys 9 Table 2.3: Distribution of Sample Fishers among the three Fishery Districts 10 Table 3.1: Demographic Characteristics of the Gampaha District 25 Table 3.2: Demographic Characteristics - Number and percentage of population by 25 ethnic group Table 3.3: Demographic Characteristics - Number and percentage of population by 25 religion Table 3.4: Employment Characteristics of the Gampaha District 26 Table 3.5: Demographic Characteristics of the Puttalam District 29 Table 3.6: Demographic Characteristics - Number and percentage of population by 30 ethnic group Table 3.7: Demographic Characteristics - Number and percentage of population by 30 religion Table 3.8: Basic Features of Fisheries in the Project Area 31 Table 3.9:Type and number of fishing crafts by coastal district 35 Table 3.10 Annual Fish Landings of the Project area 36 Table 4.1: Basic Fisheries Information- Negombo 37 Table 4.2: Type and number of crafts by FI Division 38 Table 4.3: Beach seining sites and number of seine nets in Negombo 38 Table 4.4: Annual fish landings by type of fish (kg) 39 Table 4.5: Ethnic distribution of sample households by districts 41 Table 4.6: Average size of sample households 42 Table 4.7: Demographic characteristics of sample population 42 Table 4.8: Type of fisheries activity of sample fishers 43 Table 4.10: Fishing as a means of livelihood 43 Table 4.11: Salient characteristics of fisher housing 44 Table 4.12: Information on amenities available for fisher houses 45 Table 4.13: Land ownership of fisher households of Negombo District 46 Table 4.14: Household assets of fisher households 46 Table 4.15: Ownership of vehicles by Negombo fisher households 47 Table 4.16: Ownership of fishing gear by fisher households 47 Table 4.17: Numbers of household members engaged in employment categories 48 Table 4.18: Average monthly income of fisher household income earners 48 Table 4.19: Consumption pattern of sample households during the past 12 months 49 Table 4.20: Type of actions taken to face food shortage situation 49 Table 4.21: Impact of food shortage on fisher households (Priority ranking) 49 Table 4.22: Comments/remarks related to food shortage 50 Table 4.23: Number of persons consuming drugs, alcohol and tobacco 50 Table 4.24: Frequency of consuming drugs, tobacco and alcohol 50 Table 4.25: Monthly expenditure on drugs, alcohol and tobacco 51 Table 4.26: Evolution of the fisheries sector of Negombo 52 Table 4.27: Past and Present Policies related to fisheries 52 Table 4.28: Extent of understanding of the concept of co-management 53 Table 4.29: Involvement of diverse actors in co-management 54 Table 4.30: Type of co-management organizations in fisheries- Negombo 55 Table 4.31: Fishers' perception about management systems 56

7 Table 4.32: Extent of government involvement from the point of view of fishers 57 and women Table 4.33: Persons' satisfaction with the present management system 58 Table 4.34: Persons' participation in meetings related to fisheries management 58 Table 4.35: Meetings held by fisher organizations and meeting attendance- men 60 Table 4.36: Meetings held by fisher organizations and meeting attendance- women 61 Table 4.37: Participation in management practices- men and women 62 Table 4.38: Influence of actions of fishers and women in improving management 63 Table 4.39: Impact of fisheries management on wellbeing improvements 63 Table 4.40: Suggestions for improvement of current stakeholder practices in 64 fisheries management Table 4.41: Influence of management changes on the status of resources 65 Table 4.42: Importance of Fisheries Management Measures 65 Table 4.43: Organizations and persons introducing management changes 66 Table 4.44: Fishers perception about the status of the resources 67 Table 4.45: Institutions / Organizations involved in Conflict resolution 67 Table 4.46: Persons reaping benefits from fisheries - Negombo 68 Table 4.47: Ability of fishers to make minor engine repairs at sea 69 Table 4.48: Swimming and diving ability among fishers 70 Table 4.49: Status of fishers who engage in diving related fishing activities 70 Table 4.50: Ability of fishers to handle FRP boats successfully 70 Table 4.51: Accidents and deaths happened in coastal fisheries during the period Table 4.52: Fishers attending to extra safety requirements during their fishing trips 73 Table 4.53: Contribution of different groups to the coastal fish production at 74 Negombo Table 4.54: Contribution of different fishing gear to the coastal fish production in 74 Negombo Table 4.55: Duration of fishing trips 75 Table 4.56: Knowledge level of fishers on the importance of following post 75 harvest practices soon after harvesting Table 4.57: Knowledge level of fishers on following post harvest practices 75 onboard Table 4.58: Post harvest activities carried out onboard of coastal fishing boats in 76 Negombo soon after taking the catch onboard Table 4.59: Percentage number of one day fishers who attend to post harvest 76 supportive practices on board Table 4.60: Post harvest practices followed when packing fish in boxes and fish 77 holds onboard Table 4.61: Knowledge of women on post harvest practices 77 Table 4.62: Problems faced by women in Negombo with regard to post harvest 77 issues Table 4.63: Storage facilities available for women in Negombo 78 Table 4.64: Types of post harvest products fisher women are producing at 78 Negombo Table 4.65 Requirements of the women in Negombo 78 Table 4.66: Issues related to fish processing (Matrix Ranking Exercise) 82 Table 4.67: Awareness about livelihood option fishers and women - Negombo 82 Table 4.68: Sources of livelihood capitals for fishers and women - Negombo 83 Table 4.69: Livelihood diversification from available livelihood capitals 84

8 Table 4.70: Access of fishers and women to natural capital 85 Table 4.71: Access of fishers and women to financial capital 85 Table 4.72: Access of fishers and women to social capital 86 Table 4.73: Access of fishers and women to physical capital 86 Table 4.74: Access of fishers and women to human capital 87 Table 4.75: Availability of livelihood support services 87 Table.4.76: Satisfaction with existing livelihood activities 88 Table 4.77: Importance of livelihood diversification 89 Table 4.78: Advantages of livelihood diversification 90 Table 4.79: Perception about supporting services available for livelihood 90 diversification Table 4.80: Extent of satisfaction of life at present 91 Table 4.81: Indebtedness of the family 92 Table 4.82: Source of Borrowing 93 Table 4.83: Reasons for borrowing 94 Table 4.84: Borrowing Range 94 Table 4.85: Current Status of Borrowing 95 Table 4.86: Prevailing Rates of Interest (Per annum) 95 Table 4.87: Security offered on Borrowing 96 Table 4.88: Reasons for Default in Repayment of Loan Installments 96 Table 4.89: Issues/Problems encountered 96 Table 4.90: Access to credit for fishery and other livelihood activities 97 Table 4.91: How do you assess your own indebtedness status 97 Table 4.92: Awareness of availability of Credit services 98 Table 4.93: Assessment of Credit services 98 Table 4.94: Participation in Microfinance Services 99 Table 4.95: Savings Mobilization 99 Table 4.96: Reasons for Saving 100 Table 4.97: Period of saving 100 Table 4.98: Annual Savings 100 Table 4.99: Total Savings at date 101 Table 4.100: Annual Interest rates on Savings 101 Table 4.101: Participation in Insurance Schemes 101 Table 4.102: Type/Insurer of Policy 102 Table 4.103: Reasons for Non-participation in Insurance Schemes 102 Table 4.104: Reason for Willingness to Participate in Insurance Schemes 103 Table 5.1: Basic Fisheries Information- Chilaw 111 Table 5.2: Type and number of crafts by FI Division- Chilaw 112 Table 5.3: Annual fish landings by type of fish (kg)- Chilaw 113 Table 5.4: Ethnic distribution of sample households by districts 115 Table 5.5: Main characteristics of sample households 116 Table 5.6: Demographic characteristics of sample population 116 Table 5.7: Type of fisheries activity of sample fishers 117 Table 5.8: Fishing as a means of livelihood 117 Table 5.9: Salient characteristics of fisher housing 118 Table 5.10: Information on amenities available for fisher houses 119 Table 5.11: Land ownership of fisher households 120 Table 5.12: Household assets of fisher households 120 Table 5.13: Ownership of vehicles by Chilaw fisher households 121 Table 5.14: Ownership of fishing gear by Chilaw District fisher households 121

9 Table 5.15: Numbers of household members engaged in employment categories 122 Table 5.16: Average monthly income of fisher household income earners 122 Table 5.17: Consumption pattern of sample households during the past 12 months 123 Table 5.18: Type of actions taken to face food shortage situation 123 Table 5.19: Impact of food shortage on fisher households (Priority ranking) 123 Table 5.20: comments/remarks received from Chilaw fishers related to food 124 shortage Table 5.21: Number of persons consuming drugs, alcohol and tobacco 124 Table 5.22: Frequency of consuming drugs, tobacco and alcohol 124 Table 5.23: Monthly expenditure on drugs, alcohol and tobacco 125 Table 5.24 Evolution of the fisheries sector of Chilaw 126 Table 5.25: Past and Present Policies related to fisheries- Chilaw 126 Table 5.26: Extent of understanding of the concept of co-management- Chilaw 127 Table 5.27: Involvement of diverse actors in co-management - Chilaw 128 Table 5.28: Type of organizations involved in fisheries management - Chilaw 128 Table 5.29: Fishers' perception about management systems- Chilaw 130 Table 5.30: Extent of government involvement from the point of view of fishers 131 and women- Chilaw Table 5.31: Persons' satisfaction with the present management system- Chilaw 131 Table 5.32: Persons' participation in meetings related to fisheries management Chilaw Table 5.33: Meetings held by fisher organizations and meeting attendance men 135 Table 5.34: Meetings held by fisher organizations and meeting attendance- 135 women- Chilaw Table 5.35: Participation in management practices; men and women- Chilaw 136 Table 5.36: Influence of actions of fishers and women in improving management- 136 Chilaw Table 5.37: Impact of fisheries management on wellbeing improvements- Chilaw 137 Table 5.38: Suggestions for improvement of current stakeholder practices in 138 fisheries management- Chilaw Table 5.39: Influence of management changes on the status of resources- Chilaw 139 Table 5.40: Importance of diverse measures of management- Chilaw 139 Table 5.41: Organizations/ persons introducing management changes- Chilaw 140 Table 5.42: Fishers' perception about the status of the resources- Chilaw 140 Table 5.43: Organizations involved in conflict resolution- Chilaw 141 Table 5.44: Persons reaping benefits from fisheries- Chilaw 142 Table 5.45: Ability of fishers to attend to minor engine repair at sea 143 Table 5.46: Swimming and diving ability among fishers 144 Table 5.47: Status of fishers who engage in diving related fishing activities 144 Table 5.48: Ability of fishers to handle FRP boats successfully 144 Table 5.49: Accidents and deaths happened in coastal fisheries during the period Table 5.50: Fishers attending to extra safety requirements during their fishing trips 147 Table 5.51: Contribution of different groups to the coastal fish production at 148 Chilaw Table 5.52: Contribution of different fishing gear types to the coastal fish 148 production in Chilaw Table 5.53: Duration of fishing trips 149 Table 5.54: Knowledge level of fishers on the importance of following post 149 harvest practices soon after harvesting

10 Table 5.55: Knowledge level of fishers on post harvest practices onboard 149 Table 5.56: Post harvest activities carried out onboard of coastal fishing boats in 150 Chilaw soon after taking the catch onboard Table 5.57: Percentage of fishers who attend to post harvest supportive practices 150 on board Table 5.58: Post harvest practices followed when packing fish in boxes onboard 151 Table 5.59: Knowledge of women on post harvest practices 151 Table 5.60: Problems faced by fisherwomen in Chilaw with regard to post harvest 151 issues Table 5.61: Storage facilities available for fisherwomen in Chilaw 152 Table 5.62: Types of post harvest products fisherwomen are producing at Chilaw 152 Table 5.63: Requirements of the women in Chilaw 152 Table 5.64: Issues related to fish processing (Matrix Ranking Exercise) 157 Table 5.65: Awareness about livelihood option fishers and women -Chilaw 158 Table 5.66: Sources of livelihood capitals for fishers and women - Chilaw 158 Table 5.67: Livelihood diversification from available livelihood capitals- Chilaw 159 Table 5.68: Access of fishers and women to natural capital- Chilaw 160 Table 5.69: Access of fishers and women to financial capital- Chilaw 161 Table 5.70: Access of fishers and women to social capital 161 Table 5.71: Access of fishers and women to physical capital- Chilaw 162 Table 5.72: Access of fishers and women to human capital- Chilaw 162 Table 5.73: Availability of livelihood support services- Chilaw 163 Table.5.74: Satisfaction with existing livelihood activities- Chilaw 164 Table 5.75: Importance of livelihood diversification- Chilaw 165 Table 5.76: Advantages of livelihood diversification- Chilaw 165 Table 5.77: Perception about support services available for livelihood 166 diversification- Chilaw Table 5.78: Extent of satisfaction of life at present- Chilaw 167 Table 5.79: Indebtedness of the family 168 Table 5.80: Source of Borrowing 168 Table 5.81: Reasons for Borrowing 169 Table 5.82: Borrowing Range 169 Table 5.83: Borrowing and Amount Outstanding at date 170 Table 5.84: Prevailing Rates of Interest (Per annum) 170 Table 5.85: Security offered on Borrowing 171 Table 5.86: Reasons for Default in Repayment of Loan Installments 171 Table 5.87: Issues/Problems encountered 171 Table 5.88: Access to credit for fishery and other livelihood activities 172 Table 5.89: How do you assess your own indebtedness status 172 Table 5.90: Awareness of availability of Credit services 173 Table 5.91: Assessment of Credit services 173 Table 5.92: Participation in Microfinance Services 174 Table 5.93: Savings Mobilization 174 Table 5.94: Reasons for Saving 175 Table 5.95: Period of saving 175 Table 5.96: Annual Savings 176 Table 5.97: Total Savings at date 176 Table 5.98: Annual Interest rates on Savings 177 Table 5.99: Participation in Insurance Schemes 177 Table 5.100: Type/Insurer of Policy 177

11 Table 5.101: Reasons for Non-participation in Insurance Schemes 178 Table 5.102: Reasons for Willingness to Participate in Insurance Schemes 178 Table 6.1: Basic Fisheries Information- Puttalam 185 Table 6.2: Type and number of crafts by FI Division- Puttalam 186 Table 6.3: Annual fish landings by type of fish (kg)- Puttalam 187 Table 6.4: Basic Fisheries Information in the Puttalam Lagoon 188 Table 6.5: Ethnic distribution of sample households by districts 189 Table 6.6: Household size of sample population 190 Table 6.7: Demographic characteristics of sample population 190 Table 6.8: Type of fishery activity of sample fishers of Puttalam district 191 Table 6.9: Fishing as a means of livelihood 191 Table 6.10: Salient characteristics of fisher housing 192 Table 6.11: Information on amenities available for fisher houses 193 Table 6.12: Land ownership of fisher households of Puttalam District 194 Table 6.13: Household assets of fisher households 194 Table 6.14: Ownership of vehicles by Puttalam fisher households 195 Table 6.15: Ownership of fishing gear by fisher households 195 Table 6.16: Numbers of household members engaged in employment categories 196 Table 6.17: Average monthly income of fisher household income earners 196 Table 6.18: Consumption pattern of sample households during the past 12 months 197 Table 6.19: Type of actions taken to face food shortage situation 197 Table 6.20: Impact of food shortage on fisher households (Priority ranking) 198 Table 6.21: Comments/remarks received from Puttalam fishers related to food 198 shortage Table 6.22: Number of persons consuming drugs, alcohol and tobacco 198 Table 6.23: Frequency of consuming drugs, tobacco and alcohol 199 Table 6.24: Monthly expenditure on drugs, alcohol and tobacco 199 Table 6.25: Evolution of the fisheries sector of Puttalam 200 Table 6.26: Past and Present Policies related to fisheries- Puttalam 201 Table 6.27: Extent of understanding of the concept of co-management- Puttalam 202 Table 6.28: Involvement of diverse actors in co-management- Puttalam 202 Table 6.29: Organizations involved in Fisheries Management- Puttalam 203 Table 6.30: Fishers perception about management systems- Puttalam 204 Table 6.31: Extent of government involvement from the point of view of fishers 204 and fisher women- Puttalam Table 6.32: Persons' satisfaction with the present management system- Puttalam 205 Table 6.33: Persons' participation in meetings related to fisheries management- 206 Puttalam Table 6.34: Meetings held by fisher organizations and attended by men 208 Table 6.35: Meetings held by fisher organizations and attended by women 208 Table 6.36: Participation in management practices; men and women- Puttalam 209 Table 6.37: Influence of actions of fishers and women in improving management- 209 Puttalam Table 6.38: Impact of fisheries management on wellbeing improvements- Puttalam 210 Table 6.39: Suggestions for improvement of current stakeholder practices in 211 fisheries management- Puttalam Table 6.40: Influence of management changes on the status of resources- Puttalam 212 Table 6.41.: Importance of diverse measures of management- Puttalam 212 Table 6.42: Organizations/ persons introducing management changes- Puttalam 213 Table 6.43: Fishers' perception about the status of the resources- Puttalam 213

12 Table 6.44: Organizations involved in conflict resolution- Puttalam 214 Table 6.45: Persons reaping benefits from fisheries - Puttalam 215 Table 6.46: Ability of fishers to make minor engine repair at sea 216 Table 6.47: Swimming and diving ability among fishers 217 Table 6.48 Status of fishers who engage in diving related fishing activities 217 Table 6.49: Ability of fishers to handle FRP boats successfully 217 Table 6.50: Accidents and deaths in coastal fisheries during the period Table 6.51: Fishers attending to extra safety requirements during their fishing trips 220 Table 6.52 Composition of different varieties to coastal fish production of 221 Puttalam Table 6.53: Contribution of different fishing gear to coastal fishing in Puttalam 222 Table 6.54: Duration of fishing trips 222 Table 6.55: Knowledge fishers on post harvest practices 222 Table 6.56: Knowledge of fishers on post harvest practices onboard 223 Table 6.57: Post harvest activities carried out onboard 223 Table 6.58: Percentage of one day fishers attend to post harvest practices on board 224 Table 6.59: Post harvest practices followed when packing fish onboard 224 Table 6.60: Knowledge of women on post harvest practices 224 Table 6.61: Problems faced by women on post harvest issues 225 Table 6.62: Types of post harvest products of women in Puttalam 225 Table 6.63: Requirements of the women in Puttalam 225 Table 6.64: Issues related to fish processing (Matrix Ranking Exercise) 230 Table 6.65: Awareness about livelihood option fishers and women - Puttalam 230 Table 6.66: Sources of livelihood capitals for fishers and women - Puttalam 231 Table 6.67: Livelihood diversification from available livelihood capitals- Puttalam 232 Table 6.68: Access of fishers and women to natural capital- Puttalam 233 Table 6.69: Access of fishers and women to financial capital- Puttalam 233 Table 6.70: Access of fishers and women to social capital- Puttalam 233 Table 6.71: Access of fishers and women to physical capital- Puttalam 234 Table 6.72: Access of fishers and women to human capital- Puttalam 234 Table 6.73: Availability of livelihood support services- Puttalam 235 Table.6.74: Satisfaction with existing livelihood activities- Puttalam 236 Table 6.75: Importance of livelihood diversification- Puttalam 237 Table 6.76: Advantages of livelihood diversification- Puttalam 237 Table 6.77: Perception about support services for livelihood diversification- 238 Puttalam Table 6.78: Extent of satisfaction of life at present- Puttalam 239 Table 6.79: Indebtedness of the family 240 Table 6.80: Source of Borrowing 240 Table 6.81: Reasons for Borrowing 241 Table 6.82: Borrowing Range 241 Table 6.83: Borrowing and Amount Outstanding at date 242 Table 6.84: Prevailing Rates of Interest 242 Table 6.85: Security offered on Borrowing 243 Table 6.86: Reasons for Default in Repayment of Loan Installments 243 Table 6.87: Issues/Problems encountered 243 Table 6.88: Access to credit for fishery and other livelihood activities 244 Table 6.89: How do you assess your own indebtedness status 244 Table 6.90: Awareness of availability of Credit services 245

13 Table 6.91: Assessment of Credit services 245 Table 6.92: Participation in Microfinance Services 246 Table 6.93: Savings Mobilization 246 Table 6.94: Reasons for Saving 247 Table 6.95: Period of saving 247 Table 6.96: Annual Savings 248 Table 6.97: Total Savings as at date 248 Table 6.98: Annual Interest rates on Savings 249 Table 6.99: Participation in Insurance Schemes 249 Table 6.100:Type/Insurer of Policy 249 Table 6.101: Reasons for Non-participation in Insurance Schemes 250 Table 6.102: Reasons for Willingness to Participate in Insurance Schemes 250

14 List of Figures Figure 4.1: Extent of participation and decision making by women in fisheries management 59 Figure 4.1a: Marketing Channels for Coastal and Lagoon Fishers (Negombo) 79 Figure 4.2: Daily Routine Chart- Men (Negombo) 80 Figure 4.3: Daily Routine Chart of Women in Negombo 81 Figure 5.1: Extent of participation and decision making by women in fisheries management 132 Figure 5.2: Extent of participation and involvement in fisheries management by Figure 5.3: state officers 133 Extent of participation of state officers in the activities of fisheries Cooperatives 134 Figure 5.1a: Marketing Channels for Coastal and Lagoon Fishers (Chilaw) 154 Figure 5.4: Daily Routine Chart- Men (Chilaw) 155 Figure 5.5: Daily Routine Chart of Women in Chilaw 156 Figure 6.1: Figure 6.2: Extent of participation and decision making by women in fisheries management - Puttalam 206 Extent of participation and involvement in fisheries management by state officers 207 Figure 6.1a: Marketing Channels for Coastal and Lagoon Fishers (Puttalam) 227 Figure 6.3: Daily Routine Chart- Men (Puttalam) 228 Figure 6.4: Daily Routine Chart - Women (Puttalam) 229

15 LIST OF ACRONYMS AD ADB AECID APRACA BOBP BOC CBSL CCD CHEETU DFAR DSD EEZ FAO FGDs FI FRP GCE/OL GCE/AL GND GNP GPS HNB IDAY IMUL INGO Assistant Director Bank Asian Development Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation Asia Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association Bay of Bengal Programme Bank of Ceylon Central Bank of Sri Lanka Coast Conservation Department Rotational savings groups on a periodic basis Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Divisional Secretary's Division Exclusive Economic Zone Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Focus Group Discussions Fisheries Inspector Fibre Reinforced Plastic General Certificate in Education Ordinary Level General Certificate in Education Advance Level Grama Niladhari Division Gross National Product Global Positioning System Hatton National Bank One Day Boat with Inboard Engine Multi-Day Boat with Inboard Engine International Non Government Organization

16 Jadi KIDs LFMA Maldive Fish MDGs MFAR MFI MPAs MSE MTB MTRB NACA NAQDA NARA NBSB NFS NGO NSFCF NSSB NTRB OFRP Padu PB Perches Pradeshiya Sabha RFLP Fish preserved in Salt and Goraka (Garcenia quaesita) Key Informant Discussions Lagoon Fisheries Management Authority Value added fish product Millennium Development Goals Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Micro Finance Institutions Marine Protected Areas Micro & Small Enterprise Mechanized Traditional Boat Motorized Traditional Boat Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific National Aquaculture Development Authority National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency Non-motorized Beach Seine Boat National Fisheries Solidarity Non-Government Organization Negombo South Fisheries Cooperative Federation Beach seine Non-mechanized Traditional Boat Fibre Reinforced Plastic Boat with outboard motor (17-23 feet) Net laying sites People's Bank Unit of land approximating 272 sq ft Local authority closest of people Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme

17 RFO Sanasa SMART TILLS TOR Rural Fisheries Organization Thrift and Credit Cooperative Societies Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely A clay container in which coins are saved Terms of Reference

18 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Survey Objectives and Methodology There were four objectives of the baseline survey. 1. To provide a static picture of the well being levels of target households as well as the socio-economic status at the GN and DS levels in Negombo, Chilaw and Puttalam fishery districts; 2. To make an inventory of available primary and secondary information, to identify data gaps and the data needed for the baseline, programme benefit monitoring and evaluation as per the RFLP programme level outcome and output indicators in annex 01 and baseline survey information requirements in Annex 02. The data must be disaggregated by gender and disability to the maximum possible extent; 3. To present the baseline survey findings to FAO, MFAR and other key project stakeholders at a national workshop; and, 4. To modify, finalize and submit the baseline survey report to the RFLP management team. Methodology The baseline survey identified the fishers and women fisher-folk together with fisher family members, fish processors and traders as primary stakeholders of the project and government officers responsible for administration, management and development of the coastal fishers at local and national level as other stakeholders. The following tools were used to collect data and information from the respective target groups for the baseline survey. Fishers - Questionnaire Survey and Focus Group Discussions Women - Questionnaire Survey and Focus Group Discussions Traders - Focus Group Discussions Government Officers - Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews The selection of sample households and women for the study followed a two staged sampling procedure. First a sample of fisher villages (primary sampling) from the total list of fisher villages and secondly, by selection of households and women (secondary sampling) using a random sampling technique. A total sample of 814 small scale coastal fishers and 211 women fisher-folk totaling 1,025 fisher community members were selected from the three districts. In addition to assess the involvement of NGOs in improving the livelihoods of fishers of project area, key informant interviews were held with staff of 5 selected NGOs operating in the area. Socio-Economic Structure The gender distributions of sample population of Negombo and Chilaw districts were slightly different from the gender structure of the national population, with more males than females (while the national average is more females than males). However, in Puttalam district the gender structure of sample population was close to the national structure with slightly more females than males. The literacy rate of the sample population of all three districts is much i

19 less than the national rate, which stands around 80 percent compared to the national rate of 96 percent. As per general socio economic indicators, Negombo fishery district was more affluent than the other two districts. However, its percentage of sample population receiving Samurdhi assistance (economic relief provided to households below the poverty line) was much higher than the other two districts. More than 80 percent of fisher households of Negombo and Chilaw districts lived in rented or leased houses, while in Puttalam district it was much less at 53 percent. The houses of both Negombo and Chilaw districts had better utilities than the national average. In the Puttalam district however availability of utilities was lower than the national average, except for water supply and sanitation which were on a par with national standards. More than 65 percent of fisher households of the three districts receive a monthly income of more than Rs. 5,000. However households in all three districts reported spending about 25 percent of monthly income on drugs, alcohol or tobacco. Co-Management The post war developments of the fisheries sector in the s tudy area were characterised by increases in production, number of fishing vessels, the number of active fishers, landing sites, fish prices, number of middle-traders, better technology, and post har vest facilities. While some of these changes would have added positively towards fisher well being, at least in the short run, the impact of the increased entry into fisheries, and the increase in the number of crafts, would also have increased fishing pre ssure on resources, threatening the sustainability of resources. Declining fish stocks is one indication of such threats on the health of the resources. However, people s perception was that generally the status of fisheries resources were satisfactory and no significant threats on resource sustainability have as yet been noted. Yet, management should not wait until degradation sets in. Therefore, now is the appropriate time to introduce effective management measures in the project area. In the past, fishers have been organised into fisheries cooperatives, which were the most dominant type of fisher organisations, which regulated fisheries according to community laws, with very little state intervention. In the last 15 years, there have been many changes in the management of fisheries, arising from changes in policy, especilly those dealing with fishing regulations, noitatiolpxe ecruoser, fishing methods, community organization, resources management, safety, technology, infrastructure, fisheries administration, etc. Important recent changes have included, higher productivity resulting from technological changes, deeper conc ern for resource conservation and a radical change in fisheries management, from a pure community management system to a more public private partnership. Many state officers refer to the ne w changes in management as comanagement, but it is questionable whether the recent changes deserve such qualification. The concept of co-management was very poorly understood by the people in the study area. For all types of stakeholders, co-management meant the participation of state officials in the activities of fisheries community organisations. The issuance of fishing licenses and taking action against those using banned gear (destructive gear), appear to be the major role of state officers (Department of Fisheries), which most fishers and women consider to be an effective ii

20 public input into the system of co-management. Interviewed public officers saw their involvement in this partnership as being about 50 percent, therefore the present system of management can be considered as Cooperative. Generally, fishers and women understood the importance of formal involvement in management, and felt that management should be a combined responsibility of both the community and the state. Nevertheless, it is important to conduct public awareness programmes for the benefit of fisher stakeholders (both men and women) on co-management at the very beginning of the RFLP project, to increase the likelihood of successful implementation of project activities. In the project area, there were six main organizations involved in fisheries management; the Fisheries Cooperative Societies, the newly formed Rural Fisheries Organizations, the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Fisheries Lagoon Management Authority (Negombo) (LFMA), Kattudel Associations, and Beach Seine Associations (details provided in co-management sections of chapters 4, 5 and 6). Some state officers think that the recent establishment of the LFMA in Negombo, and the plan to establish the same in other two districts, along with the establishment of the Rural Fisheries Organizations are two recently established co-management mechanisms. Many did not understand that the formation of fisheries cooperatives in the immediate post-war period coincided with the emergence of comanagement. The participation of both the fisheries inspector and the cooperative inspector in the meetings and other activities of the cooperatives is in itself a kind of a public-private partnership. If co-management is to be understood only as such a partnership, then fisheries cooperatives, beach seine associations, lagoon fisheries management authorities, etc. are all co-management bodies that had been in existence for some time. But the question remain whether this is a true form of co-management? However no proper co-management plans have been prepared which assign shared responsibility and roles for the sustainable management of fisheries to fishers and the state, and there has been no effective dialogue between the private partners (fishers) and the public partners to draw up, approve and implement effective co-management plans, that would ensure both, fisher well being and resource sustainability. What is required is effective interaction among all relevant actors: by forming appropriate interactive platforms, where actors can deliberate upon their knowledge and experience and come out with solutions and plans, acceptable to all, ensuring both resource sustainability and human well being. More strict enforcement of fisheries laws, more concern for effectively dealing with multistakeholder conflicts, better planning of management measures, etc. were more evident for the lagoons than for open sea areas. It appears that, resource management measures are more easily adopted, and are more effective, when resource areas are clearly demarcated (clearly visible boundaries, such as in Fisheries Management Areas) and when the fishers have a sense of ownership of that designated area (such as the Lagoon Fisheries Management Authority). Therefore this study strongly recommends the establishment of LFMAs in all lagoons in the study area. Apart from the formation of LFMAs, this study also recommends the establishment of Advisory Councils, to plan and guide the activities, which should include, among others of, the Fisheries Department, Coast Conservation Department, the Forest Department, the Wild Life Conservation Department, the National Aquaculture Development Authority and the Divisional Secretaries of all relevant DS Divisions. From the view point of fishers and fisher women, the present management system was unsatisfactory. Men were not very actively involved in fisheries management processes, while the contrary was true for women. The latter s attendance at meetings was almost 100 percent. Unfortunately, membership in Lagoon Fisheries Management Authority is not yet iii

21 open to women. Although the expectations of the LFMA in adopting appropriate management measures remains quite high, the participation of members in meetings was found to be low. Conflict resolution appears to be the major intervention made by the LFMA. One of the key reasons cited for low participation of members at meetings and weak implementation of lagoon management plans, was the lack of enforcement power vested with LFMAs. This appears to be an important area of concern for the RFLP project. It was too premature to make any assessment of the functioning of Rural Fisheries Organizations (RFOs). Informal discussions with fishers revealed that, some of them have joined the RFOs, while keeping their membership of fisheries cooperatives. Fishers were uncertain as to whether RFOs would succeed as a community organization. They acknowledge the increased participation of fisheries officials in the activities of RFOs. However, there is no guarantee that, they will form effective alternatives to age-old fisheries cooperatives, which were at the forefront of providing the membership with diverse livelihood capitals. Fishers and women both reported the importance of RFOs in the management of fisheries resources in coastal fisheries. Therefore, the RFLP should engage with RFOs, to support these organizations to effectively deal with their dual objective of improved welfare of their membership and the sustainable use of fisheries resources. Fisher women attend far more fisheries management meetings than men. The extent of their participation in co-management activities remains very high and they were quite active in community organizations. Fishers generally expect their wives (women) to participate in meetings that they are unable to attend because of their heavy work schedule. Thus women are at the forefront of management decision making. The weakest point in this respect is the exclusion of women from participation in LFMAs. This issue needs addressing by the relevant authorities. Not only should their participation be actively encouraged, but their capacities to effectively contribute should be built up through awareness, education and training programmes. When a person s well being needs are not met, they are less likely to be concerned with longterm management. Most of the suggestions from fishers to improve their participation in current co-management activities were closely related to securing and enhancing their fishing livelihood. In the context of inadequate access to livelihood capitals and low resilience capacity, people are more likely to fish for today and to put pressure on the resources to extract more benefits now in order to survive, rather than to think of long-term sustainable fisheries resource management. Middle-traders and non-sea going boat owners (large crafts) reap the highest benefits from fisheries, followed by crew members, boat owners (sea-going owners of small crafts), processors and consumers. Middle-traders, definitely affect all spheres of fishing activity, pushing down the prices of fresh fish and fish products and extracting the highest returns from fisheries. However without the middle-traders many fishers would not have the credit required to cover their fishing trip costs. Unless disparities in the sharing of benefits from improved management measures are addressed better off people will continue to take a disproportion proportion of the benefits from fisheries at the expense of small-scale coastal fishers and their households. iv

22 Safety at Sea The study made use of primary data collected from fishers, fisher households, focused group discussions and key informant interviews of coastal fishing vessels in the three fisheries districts was conducted by traditional, traditional motorized and motorized fishing day boats. The above inshore coastal vessels contributed around 60 to 70 percent of the total fish production. Virtually no small-scale inshore fishing vessels carry life jackets or first aid kits when going to sea and only a few take additional food, water or fuel. Space limitation in small coastal fishing crafts and short duration of fishing trips were the main reasons for not taking first aid kits, radio communication systems, life jackets, life rings, extra fuel, food, etc. on fishing trips. About 80 to 85 percent of the fishers reported being able to navigate small fishing craft well, but were uncertified. Around 75 percent of the fishers reported being able to swim well. A significant proportion of fishers were able to dive and some dive to collect sea products, but few were certified divers. In an emergency situation, about 70 percent of fishers were unable to make minor engine repairs at sea. No coastal fishers had undergone any safety at sea training. In all three fisheries districts, only men were conducting fishing activities from fishing vessels. Hence safety at sea issue was less applicable for fisher women. Details of accidents reveal an increasing trend in all districts during the last three years. Usually, coastal fishing crafts do not report to radio stations when they leave landing sites to go fishing. The south west monsoon affects all three coastal districts and during that period, landing and leaving the beaches is hazardous for fishing crafts. Sand bar formation commonly affects certain lagoon entrances on the west and north western coasts and puts fishers at risk of accidents. Post-Harvest Fisheries In the study area, 50 to 60 percent of the marine catch was of small pelagic species fishes. The main species caught by shore seine gears included sardines (Sardinella spp.), herrings (Ambligaster spp.), anchovies (Anchovies spp.), scads (Decapterus spp.), mullets (Liza spp.), carangids, silver bellies, and other pelagic species, as well as prawns (Penaeidae), crabs (Portunidae) and lobsters (Panuliridae). Most days, 70 to 90 percent of the catch was sold fresh. Gill nets produce 60 to 80 percent of the small pelagic catch. Usually gill net catches are not of the best quality and deterioration sets quickly after removal from the water. The majority of sampled day fishers therefore try to sell their catch fresh as quickly as possible without any on-board post-harvest or preservation with ice. However as 50 percent to 60 percent of the gill net catch come from fishing trips of only a few hours duration, most of the gill net production can be considered as of good quality and the fishers are usually able to sell their daily catch for a premium price. Between 50 to 60 percent of respondent fishers were unaware of the importance of attending to post harvest practices soon after harvesting. Overall about average 86.8 percent of sampled fishers were not following any onboard fish quality maintaining practices. Direct icing was the most common post-harvest onboard practice. Lesser number of fishers (around 15 percent) were gutting and/or de-heading before icing. Around 40 percent of the respondent fishers used clean water to wash fish before selling. v

23 Less than 5 percent of respondent fishers from Negombo and Chilaw districts reported conducting any on-board post-harvest practices at all (see Tables 4.58 and 5.56 respectively), while more than 80 percent of respondent fishers from Puttalam district reported using ice (see Table 6.58). The sample sizes of fishers asked about on-board post-harvest practices for Negombo, Chilaw and Puttalam districts were 12, 15 and 260 respectively. While the small sample sizes for Negombo and Chilaw districts cast some doubt on the reliability of the data collected, RFLP SRL should try and verify whether these differences in the levels of onboard post-harvest practices are real and if they are to a) try and identify the reasons for the differences and from that b) identify ways to promote better on-board post-harvest practices by fishers. Around 90 percent of the fishers prepare dried fish if there is an excess. Although majority of the fisher women were well aware of the importance of attending to post harvest practices, poor storage facilities available at their homes prevent most of them from doing so. Continuous rainy periods during the monsoon season, lack of good markets for dried fishes, financial difficulties, the high price of quality fresh fish and the lack of storage and drying facilities were cited as the major constraints that fisher women encounter. Marketing of Fish The market structure for aquatic products has evolved efficiently over time to meet the market needs for fresh fish by local consumers in the fishing areas adjacent to the landing points, the processors at the Colombo Wholesale Market and exporters/chain markets processing to meeting overseas quality specifications. The contribution of the private sector to marketing is significant, with middle-traders undertaking intermediary marketing functions including the provision of informal credit often without collateral and surviving on their ability to estimate the market demand situation and purchasing marketable quantities. Local market traders finance themselves with supplementary borrowing when needed from friends/relations and the village lender for easy accessibility, while traders serving upper end markets, access institutional sources. Respondents estimate that both buying and selling price had increased by over 75 percent for small and large fish and by over 100 percent for crustaceans over the last two decades and this was consistent with the national market situation. The new state of the art wholesale market at Peliyagoda should usher in improved marketing with the middle-traders having to adapt better practices to meet national standards to survive in the market. Local authorities need to improve the conditions of many smaller fixed markets in order to provide better service to consumers. Livelihoods Sustainability of people s livelihoods depends on, whether they have access to diverse livelihoods capital, can cope with vulnerability and bounce back from shocks (resilience vi

24 capacity). In the study area financial capital and human capital were assessed by respondents as being the livelihoods capitals in shortest supply. Women s access to human capital was particularly weak and especially for training and capacity building facilities, meaning that required human capital, i.e. education and training are unavailable for women. Although, an array of supporting services were available for livelihoods diversification, the capacity of service providers was reported to be low, thereby constraining the adoption of enhanced existing and alternative new diversified livelihoods activities. The major livelihoods activity of the fishers in the study areas was fishing, with very little involvement in any of form of alternative livelihood activities. This was proof of their satisfaction with the existing major livelihood activity, i.e. fishing. Whatever livelihoods diversification recommendations were suggested by fishers were fishing related and involved adopting only better and more cost effective fishing technologies, vessels and gear, rather than adopting new livelihoods options. Unlike the men, women were both aware of and very interested in alternative livelihoods other than fishing. Fish processing, small businesses, garment industry, farming and animal husbandry were some of the important livelihoods of women in the study area. Options preferred by women in the study area, at present, were the preparation of dried fish, maldive fish (Value added fish product) and jadi (Garcenia quaesita) (the three major livelihood activities of women in the study area). Lack of proper storage facilities and weak market access constrain fisher women from reaping greater benefits from their livelihood activities. Other identified important issues were inadequate access to new knowledge and the inability to access modern equipment due to poor access to credit facilities. The significant interest of women in diverse livelihoods options, shows the importance of their role in generating supplementary incomes, which would help to smooth inter-temporal fluctuations of daily fishing incomes. Changes in livelihood diversification were welcomed by women. A number of factors were reported to affect the livelihoods of men and women in the study area. Good harvests, good seasons, good producer prices, income stability and training impact positively on livelihoods. Factors like seasonality, low catches, the increasing cost of spare parts (high cost of production) and low producer prices, were reported to negatively influence livelihoods. People felt that, several changes would improve their livelihoods including provision of credit facilities, better market opportunities and fair prices, provision of fishing equipment at concessionary rates, training opportunities and the provision of safety equipment. Livelihoods diversification requires financial assistance. The gap between service providers and small-scale inshore fishers needs has to be closed, with MFIs providing appropriate services for coastal communities. It is also very important to identify the exact education and training needs of women and to make arrangements to provide them with missing skills and knowledge. Modern fish processing techniques, farming, animal husbandry and small-scale businesses were identified as priority areas of training need for women. The important items for improved life quality, or the well being goals were reported by respondents to include cash income, good children, education, safety and good relations with community. Any management measures that threaten any of these well being goals will in all likelihood be met with negative responses. This will result in a clash between human development goals and ecosystem health goals, and persons will start breaking rules. vii

25 The Industrial Development Board (IDB) is the pioneering state sector organization involved in the promotion of small enterprises at the grass-root level and it has a district level network supported by its DS level industrial extension officials. IDB offers a package of services to the fishery sector which includes fishery and non-fishery project profiling, entrepreneurship development training, appropriate technology transfer, business counseling, preparation of project reports and liaising with financial institutions and providing follow-up services. Small Business Development Division (SBDD) services are also available at the District Secretariats and include entrepreneurship development training, preparation of project reports and liaising with financial institutions and providing follow-up services. SBDD services can be arranged through the DS offices. Successive governments have made attempts to serve the poorer segments of the society through institutionalization of rural credit, which has been obtained from international institutions by penetration into areas which were hitherto not accessible to the marginalized poor especially on account of the cost of funds. The state banks as well as the private sector banks have taken part in the process as participating credit institutions. The Non Governmental Organizations played a significant role in the social mobilization, community strengthening, infrastructure provision, development of skills and livelihood alternatives, savings mobilization and in operating successful credit programmes for the fishery community. The participation of the target communities exclusively in MSE (Medium and Small Enterprises) activities cannot be expected in the short-term. They need to be convinced of the comparative returns. As such the strategy suggested is to stimulate nonfishery, educated and opportunity seekers within the coastal areas to MSE activities. Initially they will be able to provide employment and thereby enhance the family incomes of the target group. This will provide an opportunity for MSEs and undoubtedly make a peer effect on the fisher communities specially the youth for participation in the long term. NGOs and business/skills development institutions have the potential to contribute in the furtherance of RFLP strategy. Consideration should also be given to encouraging local level NGOs to liaise with grass-root fishery officials and the target beneficiaries in promoting sustainable livelihoods, conduct entrepreneurship/skills development training programmes, assist in developing business plans, provide/liaise in obtaining financial assistance, provide follow-up services and monitor progress as to achieve success in establishing operational enterprises within a reasonable period of time. RFLP could partially support piloting costs for groups of beneficiaries through respective participating NGOs, who could be held responsible for the proper use of funds. Micro-Finance Both fishers (15.1 percent) and women (63.9 percent) reported having a moderate to high perception of the services provided by credit institutions percent of fishers and 74.3 percent of women indicated moderate to high degree of satisfaction with the services of credit institutions percent of fishers and 36.0 percent of women indicated a moderate to high participation in micro-finance services. Generally women were much more aware (by a factor of two or threefold) than fishers of available services from credit institutions, the types of loans available and the terms and conditions of loans available from micro-finance institutions. viii

26 Overall 40 percent and 60 percent of respondents saved in home money boxes and in rotational savings groups (cheetu), the two most common used forms of savings While 40.0 percent of fishers and 34.7 of women had maintained savings for less than a year, 27.3 percent fishers and 25.2 percent women reported having maintained savings accounts for over 5 years percent of fishers and 19.0 percent of women reported that the main reason for saving was to improve or to begin a livelihood. Other reasons for savings in order of importance were in home money boxes to meet domestic needs, children s education, to purchase household goods, construction/repair of house, and special purposes/pilgrimage/wedding percent of respondents who saved in home money boxes later deposited the money in bank accounts. At the time of the baseline survey the interest rates on loans ranged between 5.0 and 18.0 percent per annum and on savings was between 7.0 and 12.0 per annum, which was reasonable and consistent with national operational market rates. However interest on borrowing from village money lenders was reported to be percent per annum which was over 10 percent per month. Sources of borrowing included established micro-finance institutions (MFI), which supplied 62.0 percent of respondent fishers and 95.1 percent of respondent women and the non formal sector which serviced 38.0 percent of respondent fishers and 4.9 percent of respondent women. Village lender served 21.5 percent of respondent fishers, but only 2.4 percent of respondent women. Village money lender is often a member of the community who commands leadership and acceptance of the community and is an immediate source of financial assistance in case of need without any collateral. They therefore provide a convenient, fast and important social service for which they charge a high interest rate The main purposes of borrowing which were reported by 55 percent of both fishers and women were for livelihoods/enterprises followed by meet family emergency needs and for construction/repair of houses. Applicants applying for loans for livelihoods need a better understanding of the viability of proposed activities and need to present this as a business plan to MFIs. Livelihoods loan funds should be used exclusively for the envisaged project and not for consumptive purposes. The main reason for default on loan repayment was attributed to loss of a livelihood (69.4 percent), having no regular income (16.1 percent) and family emergencies (14.5 percent) by fishers percent of women respondents stated that they did not default on repayment of loan installments. Fisher Cooperative Societies, Cooperative Rural Banks and Wayamba Development Bank have popularized the member/group guarantee scheme enabling members of remote scattered fisher communities to access credit. Non-government organizations have recently conducted social mobilization programmes that have strengthened the participation of women in livelihood activities and allowed them to access livelihoods credit by providing loans of up to Rs. 250,000 for construction/repair houses under group guarantee schemes. ix

27 Participation in insurance schemes was reported to be low ebb. The main inhibiting factors for participation were reported to be insufficient income, irregular income, the perception that insurance schemes were not needed and low returns on investment. The constitution of the Rural Fisheries Organizations (RFO) should establish operational guidelines based on business ethics and this should be done on a priority basis. Safeguards should be taken to curtail the defaulting of loans by members of Fishery Cooperative societies (which hitherto have been a village based community organizations beneficial to the community). Officials of the Department of Fisheries and specially the Fisheries Inspectors training to strengthen their capacity to service their beneficiary communities not only on fishery related activities, but also on non fishery livelihoods/enterprise activities. This should include networking with facilitating institutions involved in technology transfer/ entrepreneurship development/insurance, micro-finance institutions, assisting in developing individual business plans, progress monitoring, and the provision of necessary follow-up services. x

28 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION FAO Sri Lanka has commissioned Management Frontiers (Pvt.) Ltd, by the contract signed on 17 th August 2010 to undertake the preparation and submission of the Baseline Survey Report of Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (RFLP) for Sri Lanka covering the fishery districts of Negomobo, Chilaw and Puttalam. 1.1 Small-scale fisheries in the third world Around 90 percent of the 38 million persons recorded globally as fishers are classified as small-scale, and an additional more than 100 million persons are estimated to be involved in the small-scale post-harvest sector. In addition, there are millions of other rural dwellers involved in seasonal or occasional fishing activities that are not recorded as fishers in official statistics. Women are heavily involved in processing and trade of fish and fish products from small-scale fisheries. When numbers of fishers and fish workers are combined with those involved in activities supplying inputs to fishing and post-harvest activities, and their household dependents, it is likely that several hundred million people worldwide depend in some part on small-scale fisheries for their livelihoods. Many millions of these, especially in Asia and Africa, live in remote rural areas, where there are few other sources of alternative income and employment offering significant potential to contribute to livelihood strategies. Nutritionally, fish is often an important source of dietary protein, especially where other sources of animal protein are scarce or expensive. Millions of the world s poor in rural and urban areas depend on fish, much of it from small-scale fisheries, as an essential source of protein and micronutrients (Bene.et al. 2007). Nutritionally, fish is often presented as an important source of protein, especially where other sources of animal protein are scarce or expensive. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has recently estimated that fish provides about 19 percent of the protein intake in developing countries. This figure represents an average at a global level and does not reflect the very large heterogeneity at the national or, even more importantly, at the local level. The share of fish in animal protein consumption can reach 90 percent in smallisland states and isolated parts of coastal or inland areas. In such areas, small-scale fisheries assure sustainable fish supplies to entire communities who are often poor themselves (RFLP project proposal). For centuries, fishing has been a major source of food for humanity and a provider of employment and a generator of wealth. The fisheries sector has undergone vast changes over the last 50 years, initially as a result of fisheries development with a strong emphasis on growth in production. Increases in catches resulted from a strong focus on motorizing and modernizing fishing fleets, which increased the use of more productive technology and the distance many small-scale fishers can operate from their landing-sites. Although fishing is still an important source of food and employment for a large number of households in the developing world, fisheries have become an increasingly dynamic sector of the world food industry, with many states striving to take advantage of the new opportunities that the sector presents in response to growing international demand for fish and fishery products. With growing populations and increased pressure on resources, fisheries management is becoming both a development issue and an environmental one. Failures in governance 1

29 systems that lead to over fishing also increase the vulnerability of fisher-folk and undermine the fishery sector s economic and social contributions. Resource decline, the economic role of fisheries and the poverty and vulnerability of fishers are related in complex ways. The drivers of over fishing and the causes of fisher-folk s poverty, vulnerability and social exclusion often lie outside the fishery sector or are not exclusive to it. Previous development actions for the fisheries sector have aimed at reducing poverty through improvements in technology, infrastructure and market-led policy reform. These interventions have had limited success and there is a need to re-examine the causes of poverty and develop new strategies for poverty reduction. Governance and poverty reduction in fishing-dependent communities frequently require solutions to problems that are outside the sector. New thinking and new partnerships are needed to improve the contribution of fisheries to sustainable development, through responsible fishing. The Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods Programme has launched a series of policy briefs entitled New Directions in Fisheries that responds to these imperatives. Small-scale fishers and their families are often considered to be among the poorest of the poor. Many are suffering from the absence of basic social services in many isolated villages. This is reinforced by the high exposure and vulnerability of fishers and fishing communities to accidents, natural disasters and other shocks. Poor people tend to be more exposed, more sensitive to risk and have less adaptive capacity than the non-poor. They are more vulnerable. Fishing is one of the riskiest occupations. Fishers everywhere are vulnerable to accidents, injuries and death. Globally, some deaths occur every year in fishing, besides an estimated 24 million non-fatal accidents annually. In the developing world, accidents and deaths are frequent in small-scale fishing operations. Most of the direct casualties are fishers but there are impacts on women and children who are at risk of poverty, losing a fisher and are without insurance cover and social welfare. 1.2 The Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme of the FAO In its 2007 meeting, FAO s Committee of Fisheries (COFI) highlighted the importance of aquaculture and small-scale fisheries as means to increase fishery production to generate income and foreign exchange to alleviate poverty, to increase food security and to provide for diversification of employment. There were a particularly large number of interventions that indicated the extent of feeling amongst members that FAO needed to rebalance its work to adequately reflect this area of fisheries. There was a call for a special programme or Trust Fund to address the needs for work in this area The situation in the Asia Pacific Region Many of the National polices and plans for small-scale fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia Pacific region generally focus on increasing production, increasing export and value added, food security, poverty, alternative/supplementary livelihoods and also to a significant extent at present on resources management. Increased attention is now being paid to communitybased management, the importance of which has stemmed from the fact that neither the community nor the state governance systems are able to address the clash between human development goals and the ecosystem health goals. It is increasingly felt that, interactive governance with the participation of all relevant stakeholders would be necessary in resolving fisheries conflicts. Interactive governance paves the way for forming partnerships and the 2

30 mechanism of co-management has recently surfaced as an important means of dealing with the clash between the resource sustainability goals and the fisher (human) goals. In the region under concern, there are many issues related to fisheries and their management. Increased attention paid to resource management has given rise to the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Countries are also interested in exporting fish and value added fish products to earn valuable foreign exchange and to increase their GNP. This also requires policies and plans on post harvest handling of fish. Poverty is also a reality in fisheries and many policies are aimed at poverty reduction, through technological and infrastructural development, and institutional changes. Governments have realized that, one way of coping with vulnerability in fisheries is to provide fishers and their families with access to livelihood capitals and, in this respect, provision of alternative and supplementary livelihood opportunities has been identified as an important intervention. A related issue is micro-finance, a means by which access to financial capital to fishers and their families would be increased to adopt diverse livelihood opportunities. Recognizing the important role played by the women in earning supplementary incomes and coping effectively with intertemporal fluctuations in daily fishing incomes and also in bearing enormous responsibilities in family welfare, more serious focus has been given to women in fisheries. Unfortunately, past policies and action plans have not paid many dividends. There have been both community failures and government failures in effectively dealing with the needs of the sector. The government legal system has failed to deal effectively with resource sustainability concerns. Fishers break rules and often engage in environmentally unfriendly practices. Communities have failed to manage entry into fisheries and rising levels of fishing effort. Unregulated trade has resulted in increased pressure on resources and rising prices of locally available fish. Social welfare programmes have not led to significant improvements in fisher welfare. Many fishers and their families are still unable to have easy access to livelihood capitals and improve their resilience capacity, despite the channeling of colossal funds into the small scale fisheries sector. Things are not taking place the way we want them to be The focus of the Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (RFLP) of the FAO It has been identified that a renewed interest in and support of fisheries management and sustainable livelihood enhancement is urgently needed in order to forestall severe poverty and to halt ecosystem degradation to the detriment of fishers, fisher communities and entire coastal populations and economies. This is the major interest of the RFLP and the following are the problem areas where attention will be focused: 1. The lack of mechanisms and capacity for joint management of the fisheries between the fishers and government authorities co-management 2. The great vulnerability of small-scale fishers and their families in view of the risky occupation and exposed habitats 3. The loss of income from fish and fishery products due to poor handling, preservation and processing practices and inequitable returns because of the marketing system 4. The need for alternative incomes to enable maintained livelihood when fishing activities have to be reduced for sustainable resource management 5. The access to micro-finance to diversify income, adapt fishing equipment to new management regulations and to reduce vulnerability. 3

31 The primary stakeholders and target beneficiaries of the RFLP are: 1. The coastal fishers, processors, traders and their families, their organizations and their communities, including the local authorities and local NGO s; 2. The government organizations and institutions responsible for the administration, management and development of the coastal fisheries at local, district/province and national levels and non-governmental organizations serving coastal fishery communities; and, 3. The fisher women and fisher families. Other stakeholders and indirect beneficiaries are: specialized fisheries institutions for research and development, local and national non-fisheries organizations and institutions, including NGOs, consumers of fish, donor community, and regional organizations. The latter forms an important stakeholder group. Organizations that may play an active role in the implementation and follow-up of the programme are APFIC, the Asia Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA), the Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP), INFOFISH, the Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific (NACA) and SEAFDEC. In the longer-term, fisher communities and fisheries and non-fisheries organizations in other countries in the region will also benefit from the application of results and lessons learnt from the programme. This would be achieved through synergy or multiplication effect impacting funding policy and the type of assistance provided by various donors and/or regional organizations. Addressing the problems faced by small-scale fishers in Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam, has been identified as a priority for FAO, donors and national governments alike. Further, in these countries, support to communities has been identified as a key activity in helping to achieve national poverty reduction, economic and gender targets outlined in their Poverty Reduction Strategies and in support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In response to this need, FAO has developed the Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (RFLP). The Kingdom of Spain is the donor with a total contribution amounting to USD million, over a programme period of four years. The programme commenced on 01 September 2009 and will run until 31 August The outcome of the RFLP will be the: Strengthened capacity among participating small-scale fishing communities and their supporting institutions towards improved livelihoods and sustainable fisheries resources management. The major outputs of the RFLP will be: Co-management mechanisms for sustainable utilization of fishery resources; Measures to improve safety and reduce vulnerability for fisher communities; Measures for improved quality of fishery products and market chains; Strengthened and diversified income opportunities for fisher families; Facilitated access to micro-finance services for fishers, processors and vendors; and, 4

32 Regional sharing of knowledge in support of livelihood development and reduced vulnerability for fisher communities and of sustainable fisheries resource management. 1.3 The Sri Lanka study In Sri Lanka, RFLP will concentrate on three fisheries districts; Negombo, Chilaw and Puttalam. The major focus of RFLP in Sri Lanka is to, a. Demonstrate the implementation of co-management mechanisms for coastal resources; b. Supplement work on safety at sea already undertaken under the national FAO/Italy project and the global FAO/Multi-donor project; safety at sea is not a serious concern in sheltered lagoon areas but very important in more exposed coastal waters; c. Improve post-harvest options for fisher families, adding value to produce that might otherwise be sold cheaply or discarded; d. Promote new livelihood options, including aquaculture, in coastal lagoon fisher communities; and, e. Improve financial services, including savings and pensions, largely through the strengthening of existing cooperatives and education of fishers on money management to facilitate higher levels of fiscal discipline Baseline Survey In order to monitor benefits accruing to the target population and to measure achievement of programme goals, objectives and outputs during and after the programme implementation, a Baseline Survey is expected to provide information needed to establish a baseline for benefit monitoring and impact evaluation. The main objective of the baseline study is to collect baseline data to be used by RFLP Sri Lanka for monitoring and evaluation, to assess activity progress towards specific activity milestones, output indicators and overall project impact. The study will gather relevant information from existing secondary data sources and from key RFLP stakeholders, target and control communities in Negambo, Chilaw and Puttalam fisheries districts. The different activities of the baseline survey include, 1. Review, discuss and finalize in agreement with RFLP management the project indicators for impact and activities including: SMART indicators (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, relevant and Timely), disaggregated by sex for all activity milestones; 2. Recommend and agree success indicators for the 5 RFLP programme level outputs; Co-Management, Safety at Sea, Post-Harvest Fisheries, Livelihood Enhancement and Diversification, and Micro-finance; 3. Finalize the process and methods for collecting the different types of information required for the baseline survey including: 5

33 a. The different types of data, the sampling framework and survey design to collect the data required to assess progress against activity milestones, and progress and impact against the 5 RFLP output indicators; b. Sampling frequency and responsibilities of key staff/persons from the different groups involved in the baseline survey process; and, c. Data entry, data checking, analysis and reporting methods. 4. Develop, pilot test the baseline survey materials ( e.g. focus group discussion formats, questionnaires, etc.) and revise as necessary; 5. Prepare and present a plan of action (either as a combined plan for all 5 RFLP outputs, or as separate outputs) for conducting the baseline survey, to senior key staff from FAO and MFAR, covering survey design and sampling methodology, resources required and mobilization, staff, time frame and budget; 6. Modify the plan and survey in response to feedback from senior key staff from FAO and MFAR; 7. Implementation of the baseline survey including enumerator recruiting, training and field data collection; 8. Data entry, data checking and analysis and documenting the baseline information; 9. Present the baseline survey findings to FAO, MFAR and other key project stakeholders at a national workshop; and, 10. Modify, finalize and submit the baseline survey report findings to RFLP management team. Time Frame: The baseline survey was carried out during the period October-December The Chapter outline of the Baseline Survey Report This report includes 7 Chapters. Chapter one (this chapter) gives an introduction to the baseline survey carried out by the consultants, followed by Objectives and Methodology in Chapter 2. A description of the study area and the overall situation of the project area are provided in Chapter 3. This is followed by three district reports; Negombo, Chialw and Puttalam (Chapters 4, 5 and 6). Each district report provides baseline information on the 5 output indicators under study and conclusions relevant to the particular district study. Chapter 7 presents the general conclusions and recommendations of the RFLP Sri Lanka baseline survey. 6

34 CHAPTER 2: OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY 2.1 Objectives of the Baseline Survey Major Objective The overall objective of the baseline study is to collect baseline data to be used by Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (RFLP) in Sri Lanka for monitoring and evaluation, to assess programme progress towards specific activity milestones, output indicators and overall project impact Specific Objectives The more specific Objectives of the Baseline Survey would be 1. To provide a static picture of the well being levels of target households as well as the socio-economic status at the Grama Niladhari (GN village level) and Divisional Secretary (DS electoral divisions) levels in Negombo, Chilaw and Puttalam fisheries districts; 2. To make an inventory of available primary and secondary information, to identify data gaps and the data needed for the baseline, programme benefit monitoring and evaluation as per the RFLP programme level outcome and output indicators in annex 01 and baseline survey information requirements in annex 02. The data must be disaggregated by gender and disability to the maximum possible extent; 3. To present the baseline survey findings to FAO, MFAR and other key project stakeholders at a national workshop; and, 4. To modify, finalize and submit the baseline survey report to the RFLP management team. 2.2 Methodology The study area: The RFLP project has opted to implement activities in the Western and North Western Provinces, specifically in three fisheries districts; Negombo, Chilaw and Puttalam. Negombo comes under the administrative district of Gampaha in the Western Province, while Chilaw and Puttalam come under the administrative district of Puttalam in the North Western Province. A general description of the study area is presented in Chapter 3, while more specific fisheries information of the coastal districts is provided in Chapters 4, 5 and 6 which present the district reports Target Population The TOR of the baseline survey identify the primary stakeholders and target beneficiaries as (i) coastal fishers and their families, processors, traders, their organizations and other communities, including local authorities and local NGO s and, (ii) government organizations and institutions responsible for administration, management and development of the coastal fisheries at local, district/province and national levels. 7

35 Accordingly, the following stakeholder groups and target communities are included in the baseline survey. Stakeholder Group Target Community 1 Coastal Small-scale Fishers in Fishers operating non-mechanized (motorized) Negombo, Chilaw and Puttalam traditional crafts (NTRB) Fisheries districts Fishers operating mechanized traditional crafts (MTRB) Fishers operating Fiber Glass Boats with Outboard Motor (OFRP) Fishers operating beach seines (NBSB) Fishers engaged in Lagoon Fishing (Lagoon) 2 Women fisher-folk Women of fisher families (engaged in diverse technological categories given above) 3 Fisheries Officers and officers of fishing related institutions Assistant Directors of Fisheries in the 3 districts Fisheries Inspectors of the 3 districts 4 Traders Traders involved in fish marketing and buying and selling of fish products in the 3 districts 5 NGOs Officers of NGOs Sources of Information For the purpose of establishing baseline information, the survey basically used primary sources of information, while depending on secondary sources too as and when required Secondary sources of information Secondary sources of information used consisted of an array of project documents, journal articles, books, reports of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Department of Coast Conservation, etc. on the subject areas under study, Primary sources of information The primary sources of information formed the major sources of information for the study, which included the following four methods. 1. Questionnaire Surveys administered for the sample of fisher households and women fisher-folk 2. Focus Group Discussions with fishers (craft owners and crew members), women fisher-folk members, fisheries officials and, fish traders 3. Key Informant Discussions mainly with Assistant Directors of the three fisheries districts, Officers of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and several officers of fishery societies and related organizations 4. Key Informant Discussions with 5 selected NGOs backed with secondary data on consultant s prior exposure to livelihood development intervention in the project area. Accordingly, the following techniques were employed to collect data from different target groups as given in table

36 Table 2.1: Target Groups and Methods of Data Collection Used Target Group Methods of Data Collection 1. Fishers a. Questionnaire Survey b. Focus Group Discussions 2. Women a. Questionnaire Survey b. Focus Group Discussions 3. Fisheries Officers and other informants a. Focus Group Discussions 4. Traders a. Focus Group Discussions 5. NGOs a. Key Informant Interviews Sampling for the conduct of questionnaire surveys The target category, target population and sample sizes drawn for the conduct of two questionnaire surveys are given in table 2.2. Table 2.2: Sample Sizes determined for the Questionnaire Surveys Type of Survey Total Households Sample Size Coastal small-scale Fishers 28, Coastal Women Fisher-folk 1 n.a. 200 Total 1,000 1 It was decided to obtain the lists of women members of three societies of each district and select a minimum of 66 women from each district on random basis. Accordingly, a total of 211 women fisher-folk were selected Method of Sample Selection Men, Craft Owners & Crew Based on the Technical Proposal submitted to the National RFLP Office for Sri Lanak on conducting the Baselin e Sur vey, the consultants followed the Two Staged Sampling Procedure as descibed in the Short Manual on Sampling, Vol. 1, 1972, published by the United Nations. Following this sampling procedure, the consultants first selected the sample of fisher villa ges (primary sampling) from the total list of fisher villages, and thereafter, the sample of fishing households were selected (secondary sampling), using a random sampling technique. For selection of the sample, the consultants with the approval of the Na tional Project Coordinator, decided to select a sample of 800 small-scale coastal fishers and 200 women fisher- folk giving a total sample size of 1,000 fishers from the three districts. The Assistant Directors of the three fisher districts agreed to provid e complete lists of fisher villages by Fishery Inspectors Divisions of the three districts together with lists of fisher households of selected villages. Using these lists, consultants then selected a primary sample of 34 villages per district on a random basis. From each of the selected village s, the consultants then selected, using a random technique, 8 fisher households, i.e. totalling 800 fishers with 267 per district. Thus the total number of small scale fishers were as shown below. Fisheries District Sample Number of Fisher Households Negombo 271 Chilaw 270 Puttalam 273 Total 814 9

37 Method of Sample Selection - Women Fisher-folk Consultants, with the concurrence of the National Project Coordinator, agreed to select the sample women fisher folk from members of women s fisher societies in the three districts. Since only a sample of 200 women fisher folk were to be selected, it was decided to obtain the lists of women members of three societies of each district and select a minimum of 66 women from each district on a random basis. Accordingly, a total of 211 women fisher-folk were selected and the number of women sampled for the three districts was as follows. Fisheries District Sample of Women Fisher-folk Negombo 71 Chilaw 68 Puttalam 72 Total 211 Accordingly, a total sample of 1,025 fishers was selected for the baseline survey and the distribution of the sample between the three fishery districts is given in Table 2.3. Table 2.3: Distribution of Sample Fishers among the three Fishery Districts District Fisher Households Women Fisher-folk Total 1. Negombo Chilaw Puttalam Total , Focus Group Discussions Altogether 44 Fisheries Inspectors, all of which were male, (20 from Negombo, 12 from Chilaw and 12 from Puttalam) attended the Focus Group Discussions held with the government officers in the three districts Fisheries Officials A total of 23 men, craft owners and crew, all male, (9 from Negombo, 8 from Chilaw and 6 from Puttalam) attended the Focus Group Discussions held in the three districts Women Fisher Folk Forty nine women fisher folk (13 from Negombo, 21 from Chilaw and 15 from Puttalam) participated focus group discussions held in the 3 districts Fish Traders Focus Group Discussions with traders of fish and fish products were arranged with the assistance of District Fisheries Officers. One per each district was held and 28 traders, of whom 10 (6 from Negombo, 3 from Chilaw and 1 from Puttalam) were women, attended the discussions (14 from Negombo, 8 from Chilaw and 6 from Puttalam districts). 10

38 Key Informant Interviews Key Informant Interviews were held with 53 persons in the 3 Districts, of which 25 were women. They included all 3 Assistant Directors, Senior Officers of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Officers of Negombo Lagoon Management Authority, Office Bearers of Fisheries Corporative Societies, University Academics, Office Bearers of Fisheries Women Organizations and officers of 5 NGOs operating in three districts. 2.3 Data Tabulation and Analysis All data and information collected through the questionnaire survey, focus group discussions and key interviews were tabulated and analyzed. Tabulated information on co-management and livelihoods were subjected to a descriptive analysis, using the SPSS statistical package. 2.4 Output Indicators for Questionnaire Survey, Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Discussions Note: Information on some of the indicators was obtained from all methods (FGDs, Questionnaires and KID s), because of the divergence among the information types. Presented below is a list of output indicators, based on questions of the Field Survey Questionnaire administered to fisher and women fisher-folk, Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews OUTPUT 1: CO-MANAGEMENT Sub-Output 1.1: Policies and processes strengthened to support the benefits of co-management Number of co-management mechanisms (x number) established/improved Extent to which policies have been changed and modified (what before? What now?) Extent to which institutions have changed (changes in former institutions and new institutions established) What new measures of management have been established / what new plans have been drawn up? Extent of implementation of plans (number of plans drawn up against no. of plans implemented) What is the status of the new management plans (planning stage, just introduced, ongoing, implemented/completed) 11

39 1.1.7 What is the extent of formal involvement in management (High involvement / low involvement / moderate involvement) What is the degree of satisfaction of fishers about the co-management activities and management plans (satisfaction measured on a scale from Extremely happy / Somewhat happy / no idea / not happy / extremely unhappy) What is the degree of satisfaction of women / traders about the co-management activities and management plans (satisfaction measured on a scale from Extremely happy / Somewhat happy / no idea / not happy / extremely unhappy) Degree/extent of Government Officer Satisfaction with policies to support fisheries co-management (satisfaction measured on a scale from extremely happy / somewhat happy / no idea / not happy / extremely unhappy) The extent to which fishers are active in the co-management process (involvement measured on a scale from very active / moderately active / not active) The extent to which women / traders are active in the co-management process (involvement measured on a scale from very active / moderately active / not active) The extent to which government officers are active in the co-management process (involvement measured on a scale from very active / moderately active / not active) Sub-Output 1.2: Roles and functions of key fisheries stakeholders in the community have been improved to more effectively manage resources sustainably, Number of co-management mechanisms (x number) established/improved The extent of fishers / women s understanding of the concept co-management (Very well / not much / Not at all) The extent of participation by fishers in meetings (number of meetings attended against the total number of meetings held) The extent of participation by women in meetings (number of meetings attended against the total number of meetings held) The degree of participation of fishers in fisheries management (very participative / moderately participative / not participative) The degree of participation of women in fisheries management (very participative / moderately participative / not participative) The degree of participation of traders / processors in fisheries management (very participative / moderately participative / not participative) 12

40 1.2.8 The extent to which fishers actions/influence have improved/strengthened fisheries management (strongly influence / moderate influence / no influence) The extent to which women s / traders / processors actions/influence have improved/strengthened fisheries management (strongly influence / moderate influence / no influence) The degree to which fishers think that management changes have benefited fisheries resources (highly beneficial / moderately beneficial / not beneficial) The degree to which fisheries managers think that management changes have benefited fisheries resources (highly beneficial / moderately beneficial / not beneficial) What are the perceptions of fishers about the status of the fisheries resources (bad and degrading / bad /satisfactory / satisfactory and improving / good) What are the perceptions of fisheries managers about the status of the fisheries resources (bad, satisfactory but degrading, satisfactory but improving, good) What are the management changes that have taken place (input controls, output controls, institutional changes, women participation, - RANK according to importance) Who do fishers think, were instrumental in introducing these changes (community organizations, state officials, politicians, projects specify.. RANK according to importance of influence) What do you think are the impacts of management on improving the wellbeing of fishers (bad and degrading / bad /satisfactory / satisfactory and improving / good) OUTPUT 2: SAFETY AT SEA Sub-Output 2.1: Safety at sea related information accessed and used by fishers and boat builders Number of fishing accidents reported by fisheries officials by type of accident and season (to be obtained for last 3 years) Number of fishing accidents reported by fishers by type of accident and season (to be obtained for the past 3 years) Degree of awareness of fishers of safety-at-sea issues (Measured on a scale of Well aware / moderately aware / not aware) Degree of awareness of craft builders of safety-at-sea issues (Measured on a scale of Well aware / moderately aware / not aware) 13

41 2.1.5 Type of safety at sea recommendations made by the government Extent of fisher co mpliance with safety at sea recommenations (full compliance / moderate compliance / no compliance) Extent of boat builder compliance with safety at sea recommendations (full compliance / moderate compliance / no compliance) Number of fishers under gone a training on safety at sea Number of fishers having diving and swimming ability Number of fishers possessing a boat operator certificate (navigational certificate) Number of fishing crafts carrying life saving equipment in their crafts Number of fishing crafts carrying communication equipment Number of fishing crafts carrying first sid kits Number of crafts constructed in a licensed/approved boat yard Number of fishers able to attend to repairs Number of fishers having insured their crafts Sub-Output 2.2: Legal regulations for boat construction, boat equipment and boat registration are adapted and applied by boat builders and fishers Extent of boat builder compliance with safety-at-sea regulations as stipulated by law (measured on a scale of, high compliance / low (some) compliance / no compliance); Extent of registration of fishing craft (Percentage of fishers registered their crafts) Sub-Output 2.3: Community members/villagers are confident in preparing for coastal disasters Extent of awareness of the fisher community (both men and women ) of potential coastal disasters and to adopt measures to prepare for them (Measured on a scale of, well aware / moderately aware / not aware); Extent of involvement of the fisher community (both men and women ) in planning and preparing diverse disaster management measures (measured on a scale of high involvement / low involvement / no involvement ) 14

42 2.4.3 OUTPUT 3: POST HARVEST AND MARKETING Sub-Output 3.1: Post-harvest skills, knowledge and facilities are accessed and used by fishers/fish processors Number of boats taking ice / insulated fish boxes in fishing operations Number of mechanized fishing boats (IB) having fish holds Numbers of fishing boats do gutting/ de-heading at sea Number of fishers who pack fish in an orderly manner in insulated boxes/ fish hold Number of fishers using clean water for washing fish Number of fishers who expose fish on the peer/ auctioning place for selling for a longer period Number of boats following good sanitary practices Number of fish vendors using insulated boxes for selling fish Number of insulated trucks used for the transportation of fish Extent of involvement in post-harvest practices on board (measured on a scale of high involvement / moderate involvement / no involvement) Extent of use of good post harvest practices by fishers (measured on a scale of, high / moderate / low) Degree of awareness of fishers on post-harvest issues by fishers and fish processors (women) (measured on a scale of well aware / moderately aware / not aware) Extent of availability of facilities for post harvest handling of fish (measured on a scale of high / moderate / low) Extent of facilities available on board crafts, to keep fish without any post harvest quality loss? (highly sufficient / moderately sufficient / not sufficient) Sub-Output 3.2: Government officers perceive a reduction in post-harvest loss/improvement in postharvest quality Extent of satisfaction of fisheries official on fish products, Maldive fish, dried fish and others, (meeting existing standards and the quality of fish products), was measured (on a scale of, not satisfies / moderately satisfied / very satisfied). 15

43 Sub-Output 3.3: Consumer satisfaction on accessibility and quality of fish products Degree of consumer satisfaction with accessibility and quality of fish products (Measured on a scale of, very satisfied / satisfied / not satisfied); Sub-Output 3.4: Fishers have improved access and increased influence/bargaining power in the market Degree of fisher satisfaction with access to and influence in the market (Percentage of fishers who are highly satisfied / satisfied / not satisfied); Degree of satisfaction of fishers about the producer price (measured on a scale of highly satisfied / satisfied / not satisfied) Presence of competition in fish buying (by merchants) (measured on a scale of high / moderate / low) Fishers perception of their bargaining power vis-à-vis fish merchants (measured on a scale of high / moderate / low) Sub-Output 3.5: Government has enhanced its capacity to support post-harvest fisheries Extent of satisfaction of Government Officers on state policies / initiatives to support post-harvest practices in fisheries (Measured on a scale of, highly satisfied / satisfied / not satisfied) Government budget allocation for post harvest practices / activities / initiatives in fisheries (amount and type of activity) Type and extent of involvement of fisheries officials / other government officials in post harvest practices (number of officers involved and time allocation) Type and number of regulations present with respect to post harvest practices in fisheries Type and number of organizations dealing with post harvest practices in fisheries 16

44 2.4.4 OUTPUT 4: LIVELIHOODS ENHANCEMENT AND DIVERSIFICATION Sub-Output 4.1: Existing livelihoods enhanced and opportunities for different activities introduced and supported to create more and better opportunities for livelihood development Degree/extent of awareness of fishers and fisher household members about present and future livelihood options (Percentage of fishers and fisher household members who are very aware / aware / not aware ); Degree/extent of fisher and fisher household member satisfaction with their existing livelihoods (Percentage of fishers who are very satisfied / satisfied / not satisfied ); Number of livelihood improvement activities implemented / under implementation / planned ; Size of average monthly income derived from major livelihood activity and supplementary livelihood activities Degree/extent of adoption/uptake of livelihood diversification by fishers and fisher household members (Percentage of fishers and fisher household members x number of livelihood opportunities/options as compared to total number of fishers and fisher household members x total number of livelihood opportunities/options) Sub-Output 4.2: Improved capability of service providers and policy makers in order to support livelihood enhancement and diversification Total number of service providers in the spheres of fisheries and livelihood assistance (including state, private civil society / project) Degree/extent of awareness of service providers with opportunities/options for livelihoods diversification (Percentage of service providers who are very aware / aware / not aware ); Fishers and women s perception of the capacity of service providers (capacity is measured in a scale: percentage of respondents reporting high / moderate / low) for each of the services mentioned in Access to different livelihood capitals to fishers and their household members: natural, physical, financial, human and social (access is measured on a scale: percentage of respondents reporting, no access / weak access / fair access) Extent to which diverse actors assisting / helping fishers and women to access diverse livelihood capitals (percentage of respondents reporting state / private / civil society / project) 17

45 4.2.6 Degree of recipient satisfaction with provision of service to support livelihood enhancement and diversification (Percentage of recipients who are very satisfied / satisfied / not satisfied ) OUTPUT 5: MICRO FINANCE Sub-Output 5.1: Increased awareness of credit availability and saving mobilization Extent of indebtedness of fishers (measured on a scale of High / moderate / low) Status of indebtedness of fishers (amounts borrowed) Number and type of financial services obtained by fishers / household members (by reason, and type of financial services) Present access to credit for fisheries and other livelihood activities (measured on a scale of Strong / moderate / weak) Extent of participation in micro finance schemes (high / moderate / low) Sub-Output 5.2: Government and private banks and micro-finance institutions delivery of credit to fisher communities has improved Awareness of fishers / women on type and conditions of loans lent by ban king / otehr financial institutions (measured on a scale of, fully aware / moderately aware / not aware) Perception of fishers of the benefits of credit schemes of state banks / other financial institutions in meeting credit needs for livelihood ac tivities (highly beneficial / moderately beneficial / not beneficial) Degree of satisfaction of fishers / women with credit facilities offered by private banks / goverment banks / other financial institutions (measured on a scale of high / moderate / low) 2.5 Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Discussions Questions raised at Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Discussions with diverse stake holders are given below. 18

46 Focus Group Discussions Module Fishers Women Traders Fisheries Managers / officers Status of Co-management Mechanisms 1. Current understanding and expectations of comanagement 2. Stakeholder Practices in current co-management system 3. Formal involvement in management and the extent to which government officers are active in the comanagement process 4. Impacts of management on improving the wellbeing of fishers 1. Current understanding and expectations of comanagement 2. Role and extent of involvement of women in the co-management process and their satisfaction 3. What do you think are the impacts of management on improving the wellbeing of fishers 1. Current understanding and expectations of co-management 2. Role and extent of involvement of women in the comanagement process and their satisfaction 3. What do you think are the impacts of management on improving the wellbeing of fishers 1. Type and number of comanagement mechanisms established/improved 2. Extent to which policies have been changed and modified (what before? What now?) 3. Extent to which institutions have changed (changes in former institutions and new institutions established) 4. What new measures of management have been established / what new plans have been drawn up? 5. Extent of implementation of plans and the status of new management plans 6. What is the extent of formal involvement in management and satisfaction with policies to support fisheries comanagement 7. The extent to which government officers are active in the comanagement process 8. What are the perceptions of fisheries managers about the status of the fisheries resources 19

47 Module Fishers Women Traders Fisheries Managers / officers Module 7: Safety at Sea 1. tnetxe of redliub taob compliance with safety-atsea regulations as stipulated by law Module 8: Quality of Fish products and fish marketing Awareness of no post-harvest issues A fo ytilibaliav tsevrah tsop rof seitilicaf hsif fo gnildnah Issues related to post harvest handling and value addition 1. Issues related to post harvest handling and value addition 2. tnetxe of fo noitcafsitas slaiciffo seirehsifon fish products evidlam,hsif yrd( ) rehto,hsif fo ytilauq eht no gniteem( stcudorp hsif ) sdradnats gnitsixe 3. fo eergedconsumer satisfaction with accessibility ytilauq dna of fish products 4. Extent of satisfaction of Government Officers on state policies / initiatives to support post-harvest practices in fisheries Module 9: Livelihood Diversity 1. Current Livelihood activities (ongoing, planned, future potential) and factors affecting livelihood activities including supporting services ( positive and negative) 1. Factors affecting livelihood activities including supporting services ( positive and negative) 1. Factors affecting livelihood activities including supporting services ( positive and negative) Module 10: Indebtedness Module 11: Micro Finance 1. Status of house hold indebtedness 1. Access and issues related to micro finance institutions 20

48 Key Informant Discussions Module Description Fisheries Officers Cooperative Officials / other officials / persons Module 6 Co-Management 1. Types and number of co-management mechanisms established/improved 1. Types and number of co-management mechanisms established/improved 2. Extent to which institutions have changed (changes in former institutions and new institutions established) 2. Extent to which institutions have changed (changes in former institutions and new institutions established) 3. Policies and institutions supporting comanagement and areas of strengthening 3. Policies and institutions supporting co-management and areas of strengthening 4. What are the management changes that have taken place 4. What are the management changes that have taken place 5. Stakeholder practices in current comanagement system 5. Stakeholder practices in current co-management system 6. Current systems for conflict resolution and improvements required 6. What is the extent of formal involvement in management (High involvement / low involvement 7. What are the perceptions of fisheries managers about the status of the fisheries resources / moderate involvement) 7. Current systems of conflict resolution and improvements required 8. The extent to which government officers are active in the co-management process (involvement measured on a scale from very active / moderately active / not active) 9. What do you think are the impacts of management on improving the wellbeing of fishers Module 7 Safety at Sea 1. Number of fishing accidents reported by fisheries officials dna tnedicca fo epyt yb ) sraey 3 tsal rof deniatbo eb ot( nosaes 2. Degfo eer awareness of fo sredliub tfarc safety-at-sea issues ( fo elacs a no derusaem erawa llew/ yletaredom aware / not aware) 3. edam snoitadnemmocer aes ta ytefas fo epyt tnemnrevog eht yb 4. ytefas htiw ecnailpmoc redliub taob fo tnetxe / ecnailpmoc lluf( snoitadnemmocer aes ta ) ecnailpmoc on / ecnailpmoc etaredom 21

49 Module Description Fisheries Officers Cooperative Officials / other officials / persons Module 8: Module 10 & 11 Quality of Fish products and fish marketing Livelihood Diversity & Micro Finance 1. Government budget allocation for post harvest practices / activities / initiatives in fisheries (amount and type of activity) 2. Type and extent of involvement of fisheries officials / other government officials in post harvest practices (number of officers involved and time allocation) 3. Type and number of regulations present with respect to post harvest practices in fisheries 4. Type and number of organizations dealing with post harvest practices in fisheries 1. Training received by field/extension officers in enterprise/livelihood development/micro finance 2. Participation in donor funded projects by field/extension officers and their role and lessons learned 3. Participation in micro finance programmes in projects by field/extension officers and their role and lessons learned 4. CBO/NGOs operating in project locations furthering enterprise/livelihood development activities and the role of field/extension officers 5. Insurance schemes operational in project locations 22

50 2.6 The Multi-disciplinary approach Since the RFLP is an inter-disciplinary fisheries development programme, the baseline survey was carried out with the participation of experts knowledgeable in the areas of project management, monitoring and evaluation, process planning, sustainable livelihoods, participatory approaches, community mobilization, meeting facilitation, institutional analysis, post-harvest and marketing of aquatic products, livelihood enhancement and diversification, fisheries management, safety at sea, micro-finance service provision, and fisheries resource assessment. 23

51 CHAPTER 3: DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA AND OVERALL SITUATION OF THE PROJECT AREA 3.1 A General Description of the Study Area The three coastal fisheries districts of the study area ; Negombo, Chilaw and Puttalam belong to two administrative districts. While Negombo belongs to the Gampaha d istrict, Chilaw and Puttalam belong to the Puttalam administrative district Gampaha District Location and Climate Gampaha district was declared a new administrative district in 1978, separating it from the Colombo district. Today, the City of Gampaha ( N, E), is a rapidly growing city in the Western Province. Gampaha district is 1,387 km 2 in area and is bounded in the North by Maha Oya, in the East by a line drawn across Methirigala Mountain, in the South by the Kelani River and, in the West by the Indian Ocean. Its geographical location makes it a district that belongs to the coastal plain ( Gampaha district belongs to the Wet Zone of Sri Lanka ( natural resource management centre- agro-ecology of Sri Lanka), receiving a relatively high mean annual rainfall over 2,500 mm without any pronounced dry periods Administrative Areas The district consists of 13 electoral divisions and includes two Municipal Councils, five Urban Councils, 12 Pradeshiya Sabas (Divisional level local authorities) and 1,177 Grama Niladari (Village level) divisions. The 13 electoral divisions (D.S. Divisions) are, Divulapitiya, Katana, Negombo, Minuwangoda, Mirigama, Attanagalle, Gampaha, Jaela, Wattala, Kelaniya, Mahara, Dompe and Biyagama ( Demographic Characteristics Data on demographic characteristics are available from the last population census in Gampaha district had a population of 2,063,684 (Department of Census and Statistics, 2001) with a population density of 1,539 inhabitants per km 2. The overall literacy rate of the district was 95.4 percent, which was higher than the National figure of 91.1 percent. 24

52 Table 3.1: Demographic Characteristics of Gampaha district Total Population 2,063,684 Male 1,007,702 Female 1,055,982 Population density (persons per km 2 ) 1,539 Population by sector *Urban Rural Literacy rate (percentage) Total Male Female Source: Department of Census and Statistics, Sinhalese was the major ethnic group (table 3.2), accounting for 91.0 percent of the total population of Gampaha district, followed by Sri Lankan Moor (3.8 percent). Though the majority of the people in the district were Buddhists, 20 percent were Roman Catholic and 1.4 percent other Christian denominations (Table 3.3). Table 3.2: Demographic Characteristics - Number and percentage of population by ethnic group Ethnic Group Number Percentage (%) Sinhalese 1,877, Sri Lanka Tamil 65, Indian Tamil 7, Sri Lanka Moor 78, Burgher 11, Malay 13, Other 9, Source: Department of Census and Statistics, 2001 Table 3.3: Demographic Characteristics - Number and percentage of population by religion Religion Number Percentage (%) Buddhist 1,479, Hindu 42, Islam 93, Roman Catholic 418, Other Christian denominations 28, Other 1, Source: Department of Census and Statistics,

53 Land use Pattern, Economy and Employment Characteristics of the Gampaha District People of Gampaha district derive their income mainly from agriculture and fisheries. In 2002, the total extent of land under agriculture was 194,094 acres 1, of which 18,951 acres were under the estate sector and the rest were small holdings. The major export crops of Gampaha district were rubber (7,605 acres/ 3,077.8 hectares) and coconut (43,130 acres/ 17,454.4 hectares) (http: //www. statistics.gov. lk/agriculture/ AllSectors/index.htm). Paddy cultivation covered 35,904 acres/14,530 hectares of land in 2009 ( www. statistics.gov.lk /agriculture /Paddy % 20Statistics/PaddyStatsPages/azSriLanka0910.html). Fisheries is another important source of income for the people in the district, where the second highest marine fish landings were recorded from Gampaha district in 2009 (Negombo coastal district) with a total landing of 37,490 MT (Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources 2009). The district is characterized by a high rate of urbanization and the majority of the population are engaged in the service sector (table 3.4). Table 3.4: Employment Characteristics of the Gampaha District Labour force (million) 0.9 Employment by economic activity Percent Agriculture, forestry & fishery 4.6 Industry 41.2 Services 54.2 Unemployment 8.2 Department of Census and Statistics Development Programs Of the major development projects in the Gampaha district, the Kerawalapitiya Power Generation Project is of significant national interest. This would be the second largest thermal combined power plant in the country. The project is estimated to add 300 MW to the national grid out of which 200 MW will be generated using furnace oil and the balance using steam emanated from the plant. The first phase of the project was initiated in December The construction of the Colombo-Katunayake expressway and the tunnel at Kadawatha as a part of the Outer Colombo Circular road are also taking place at an accelerated pace. The Negombo Fishing Harbour was upgraded last year Roads The Government has spent Rs. 10, million for the development of roads in the district under the programme Projects, during the last four years. Under the Gama Neguma and Maga Neguma development schemes, 27 projects were implemented in 2006 at a cost of Rs. 1,291.7 million, 93 projects in 2007, costing Rs. 2,334.8 million, 51 projects in 2008 costing Rs. 2,268 million and, a number of projects in 2009 costing Rs. 4,932 million. To 1 Acre = ha 26

54 develop rural roads, the Government has implemented 7,458 projects at a cost of Rs. 2,000.5 million. As a result of these development projects, most of the muddy and sandy roads in the district have now been replaced with concrete roads. To carry out road development programs more effectively, the Ran Aruna program has been implemented in the district by the Ministry of Highways and Road Development. According to the information available with the Ministry, 145 km of roads will be reconstructed using asphalt overlaying, better known as carpeting at a cost of Rs. 2,200 million Agriculture As a means of upgrading the agriculture sector of Gampaha district, the Government has renovated a number of irrigation schemes during the past few years, helping the farming communities to grow more and earn more. The Government has renovated 703 irrigation schemes at a cost of Rs million, during the past five years. To support the farmer communities, the Government has implemented 118 agricultural development projects at a cost of Rs million in 2006, 89 projects in 2007 at a cost of Rs million, 104 projects in 2008 at a cost of Rs. 83 million, and 69 projects in 2009 at a cost of Rs. 122 million. Today, the blocked irrigation canals are cleared, enabling a continuous water supply to the paddy fields and arable lands. With these developments, farmers were able to cultivate 4,000 acres of abandoned paddy fields during this period. Apart from paddy cultivation, fruits comprise a major sub-sector. The most popular Rambutan (Nephelium lappacium) cultivation is 8,000 acres/3,237 hectares in extent, concentrated mainly in Dompe, Biyagama, Gampaha, Divulapitiya and Attanagalla DS Divisions. A village dedicated for durian cultivation is expected to be established in Divulapitiya. Pineapple is grown in 3,795 acres/1,500 hectares. The next largest cultivation is of flowers for the local as well as for export markets. 22 societies of floriculture cultivators are operative in the district Education It is the vision of the Government to make Gampaha the country s Knowledge and Information Technology hub. Thus, upgrading the existing school network at the initial stage and then gliding on to an advanced stage of establishing new schools is the present line of thinking of the government. In order to do so, the existing schools are being equipped with state-of-the-art technology and updated knowledge to meet the world demand for education. The Government has implemented 853 projects at a cost of Rs million to improve educational facilities during the last five years Healthy living Lack of safe drinking water has become a major problem for the people of Gampaha in the recent past. During the last five years, the Government has implemented 273 water supply schemes at a cost of Rs. 1,221.7 million to meet this basic need of the people in Gampaha district. The Government has also implemented 303 health development projects throughout Gampaha district during the last five years, at a cost of Rs million. Seventy nine such projects were implemented in 2006 at a cost of Rs million, 123 projects in 2007 at a 27

55 cost of Rs million, 20 projects in 2008 at a cost of Rs million, and, 81 projects in 2009 at a cost of Rs million Fisheries sector In order to assist the fisheries industry in the coastal areas of Katana, Negombo, Ja-Ela and Wattala, those depending on fishery-related activities along the banks of the Kelani River and, people suffering from water-clogging in certain areas of the district, the Government implemented 151 projects at a cost of Rs million. Two fishery development projects were implemented in 2006 at a cost of Rs.78.6 million, 242 projects at a cost of Rs million in 2007, 1,232 projects at a cost of Rs million in 2008 and 1,177 projects at a cost of Rs million in Tourism The coastal belt of Negombo, which is renowned as a Little Rome, is quite an important tourist location, housing 490,013 families. The amount spent by the Government for uplifting the tourist industry in Gampaha district during the last four years amounted to Rs million. This was spent on implementing 235 projects. 64 tourist development projects were implemented in 2006 at a cost of Rs million, 48 projects in 2007 at a cost of Rs million, 67 projects in 2008 at a cost of Rs million, and 56 projects in 2009 at a cost of Rs million Urban Development To undertake infrastructure development in the 13 Divisional Secretariat Divisions of the district, the Government has spent Rs million and implemented 1,009 projects throughout Gampaha district during the past few years. In 2006, 286 projects were implemented at a cost of Rs million, 169 projects in 2007 at a cost of Rs million, 299 projects in 2008 at a cost of Rs million, and 273 projects in 2009 at a cost of Rs million (RATATHOTA.com-Sri Lankan Politics, Culture, Society, Economy & Social Trends, 2010) Puttalam District Location and Climate The administrative district of Puttalam is situated in the North Western province of Sri Lanka, surrounded on the North by Modaragam Aru bordering the Mannar district, on the East by the Kurunegala and Anurdhapura districts, on the South by Ma Oya boardering Gampaha district and on the West by the Indian Ocean. The district has a land area of 3,013 km 2, including inland water bodies and a coastal belt of 288 km. Deduru Oya, Mee Oya, Battulu Oya and Rathambala Oya, which flow through the district. ( Based on rainfall distribution and mean temperature variation, Sri Lanka has traditionally been divided in to three climatic zones; Wet Zone, Dry Zone and Intermediate Zone. Following this classification, there are two identifiable climate zones in the Puttalam district; the I ntermediate Zone within Ma Oya and Deduru Oya,( *IL 3 and *IL 1 ) and, the area of 28

56 Deduru Oya to the northern boarder of the district and Kalipinya Peninsular classified as the Dry Zone (*DL 3. ). ( natural resource management centre- agroecology of Sri Lanka) Administrative Areas The district is administered through sixteen Divisional Secretariat Divisions namely Anamaduwa, Arachchikattuwa, Chilaw, Dankotuwa, Kalpitiya, Karuwalagaswewa, Madampe, Mahakumbukkadawala, Mahawewa, Mundel, Nattandiya, Nawagattegama, Pallama, Puttalama Wanatavilluwa and Wennappuwa. There are 10 Pradeesiya sabhas and 548 Grama Niladhari divisions. Puttalam urban council and Chilaw uraban council are the two urban councils functioning in the district ( /dist_puttalam /English /location_ based_info.html) Demographic Characteristics In 2001, Puttalam District had a population of 709,677 (Department of Census and Statistics, 2001) with a population density of 246 inhabitants per km 2. The overall literacy rate of the district was 90.7 percent, which was little lower than the National figure of 91.1 percent. But, a higher female literacy rate was observed within the District (90.3 percent) than the National figure of 89.7 percent. Table 3.5: Demographic Characteristics of the Puttalam District Total Population 709,677 Male 352,455 Female 357, 222 Population density (persons per sq.km.) Average annual rate of growth Literacy rate (percentage) Total Male Female Source: Department of Census and Statistics, % Sinhalese was the major ethnic group (Table 3.6) comprising of 73.7 percent of the total population of Puttalam district, followed by Sri Lankan Moor (18.8 percent), the second largest ethnic group. The,majority of the people were Buddhists and Roman Catholic were 32.4 percent (Table 3.7). 2 The Intermediate Zone (I) demarcates the area, which receives a mean annual rainfall between 1,750 to 2,500 mm with a short and less prominent dry season. The Dry Zone (D) is the area, which receives a mean annual rainfall of less than 1,750 mm with a distinct dry season from May to September. 29

57 Table 3.6: Demographic Characteristics - Number and percentage of population by ethnic group Ethnic Group Number Percentage Sinhalese 523, Sri Lanka Tamil 48, Indian Tamil 2, Sri Lanka Moor 133, Burgher Malay 1, Other 1, Source: Department of Census and Statistics, 2001 Table 3.7: Demographic Characteristics - Number and percentage of population by religion Religion Number Percentage Buddhist 308, Hindu 29, Islam 134, Roman Catholic 229, Other Christian 6, Other Source: Department of Census and Statistics, Land use pattern, Economy and Employment Characteristics of the Puttalam District People of Puttalam have a range of income sources from coconut and paddy cultivation to fisheries and aquaculture. Located in the coconut triangle, coconut cultivation in Puttalam accounts for the largest land use, with 57 percent of the cultivation managed as small holdings and the rest as estates. Paddy cultivation covers 132,000 acres/53,420 hectares of land. Fishing produces 15 percent of the total coastal fish landings of Sri Lanka, the major fishing centers being Kalpitiya, Chilaw and Thoduwawa. The production of cash crops (e.g. cashew), onion, tobacco and chilies is quite significant. Puttalam is a major salt producer for the country. The labour force of 308,985 is distributed as, 36 percent in agriculture and fisheries, 20 percent in manufacturing, 15 percent in the service sector, 12 percent in trading and eating establishments and 7 percent in construction. But, the data collected subsequently nearly a decade later by the FLICT study indicated a different distribution of labour: agriculture (27.8 percent), industry (30.8 percent) and services (41.4 percent) (ProMiS Operational District Profiles, 2010) Poverty The district s poverty line is Rs. 3,107 (National Poverty Line for Sri Lanka is Rs. 3,087) (Department of Census and Statistics, 2010). Puttalam district has a distinctive poverty story with an average head count index of 13.1 (per 100 households) which is lower than the 30

58 national average of 15.2, with 104,000 poor people living under the official poverty line and with a reasonably equal gini coefficient 3 of Development Programmes Puttalam is known for its picturesque lagoons and has now emerged as one of the important towns in the district following the major projects launched by the government. An Kalpitiya Integrated Tourism Resort Project (KITRP) has been launched at an estimated cost of around US$ 4 billion. It is one of the biggest tourist projects undertaken by the Government to promote tourism in the country. Luxury villas are to be built on the fourteen Virgin Islands in the Kalpitiya region. More than 100 hectares of land in Kalpitiya have been vested in the Kalpitiya Integrated Tourism Resort Project, which will consist of Ayurveda Spas, recreational centers, a helipad etc. The latter will facilitate airlifting of tourists from other parts of the country. The project is expected to be completed in three years and will generate direct employment to 15,000-20,000 and indirect employment to 50,000 persons. Recently, the stage 2 of the Norochcholai Coal Power P roject commenced, which will add 600 MW of electricity to the national grid by The Puttalam-Mannar, Wilpattu-Madu and Colombo-Mannar roads will also be developed shortly. Steps are being taken to re-start the tile and brick industry to generate more employment in the area (Media center for national development of Sri Lanka at Overall situation of the project area The project area falls under three coastal fishery districts; Negombo, Chilaw and Puttalam. Boundaries of these coastal districts have not been mapped out. These Coastal Districts are the major Fisheries Administrative Divisions in the project area, which come under the purview of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and each fishery district is administered by the Assistant Director of Fisheries (AD). Each fishery district is divided into a number of Fisheries Inspector Divisions, which come under the supervision and control of Fisheries Inspectors (FIs). Each FI division may have one or more landing centers ( thotupola ). The details are presented in maps 1, 2 and 3. Fishers are generally organized into cooperatives and other societies. Many work in close collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and others work with the Catholic Church The salient features of fisheries in the project area The salient features of fisheries in the project area are presented in Tables 3.8, 3.9 and Mathematical measurement of the inequality of a distribution. This often refers specifically to income distributions. 31

59 Table 3.8: Basic Features of Fisheries in the Project Area Fishery District Numbe r of FI Divisio ns Number of Landing Centers Numbe r of Active Fishers Number of Fishing Households Fishing Dependent Population Number of Fisheries Cooperatives Number of other Fisheries Community Organizations Negombo ,506 7,718 38, Chilaw ,734 7,719 18, Puttalam ,546 12,680 44, TOTAL ,786 28, , There are 32 FI Divisions in the project area with 237 landing centers (thotupola) (see map 1, 2 and 3) Map 1. Landings sites in Negombo 32

60 Map 2. Landing sites in Chilaw 33

61 Map 3. Landings sites in Puttalam 34

62 The highest number of landing centers are in Negombo (100). There are 36,786 active fishers, 28,117 fishing households and 101,644 people dependent on fisheries. The largest active fisher population is in Puttalam (15,546). There are 125 fisheries cooperative societies and 166 other societies. Fishing is diverse in nature, the diversity arising from the types of craft-gear combinations used, area of operation and type of resource. In the latter case, fishing can be categorized into marine fisheries, lagoon fisheries and aquaculture. In respect of areas of operation, lagoon fisheries and aquaculture are generally carried out in the land side of the coastal zone and marine fisheries are conducted beyond the shore line into the sea, even crossing the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and into the high seas. Fishers adopt diverse craft gear combinations in exploiting various resources living in these fishing areas. Table 3.9 gives type and number of fishing crafts present in the project area. Table 3.9:Type and number of fishing crafts by fishery district Fishery District Type and Number of Crafts IMUL IDAY OFRP MTRB NTRB NBSB Negombo , , Chilaw 11-1, , Puttalam 85 2, , TOTAL , , Key: IMUL = Multi day boat with inboard engine; IDAY = One day boat with inboard engine; OFRP = Fibre Reinforced Plastic boat with outboard engine; MTRB = Motorized traditional boat; NTRB = Non-motorized traditional boat; NBSB = Non-motorized Beach Seine Boat IMUL and IDAY are large mechanized crafts with inboard engines, lengths varying from 28ft to 45ft (8.53 to13.71 meters). IMUL are multi-day crafts which operate within the EEZ, outside the EEZ on the high seas and are also involved in illegally fishing in the EEZ of other countries; usually in the Arabic Sea and in the Indian Ocean. These crafts are equipped with satellite navigators (GPS), SSB radio and other communication devices and ice holds for fish preservation and, are involved in fishing trips ranging from 7 days to 1½ months. There are 513 such crafts in the project area, of which 417 are found in Negombo. The IDAY are crafts with inboard engines, without facilities for fish preservation. They generally fish within and outside the continental shelf (often outside). Their popularity is declining and they are only found in Negombo. All the rest of the crafts are called coastal crafts, which fish within the continental shelf and usually up to distance of about 15 km from the shore line. These crafts are the small mechanized crafts (fibre glass boats) fitted with an outboard motor (OFRP) and traditional crafts (both mechanized and non-mechanised). There are 5,970 OFRP boats, 169 traditional craft with an outboard motor and 4,337 traditional crafts in the project area. The highest number of OFRP (2,626) and almost all MTRB are found in the Puttalam district. These coastal crafts together form the fleet of small-scale coastal fishing crafts in the marine sector. The fishers engaged in these crafts, along with those engaged in lagoon fisheries form the target population of this study. 35

63 The total annual fish landings in the project area in 2008 amounted to 79,450 tons, which is 27 percent of the total annual fish landings (274,260 tons) of the country (see table 3.10). Table 3.10 Annual Fish Landings of the Project area Fishery District Total Annual Landings (tons) Negombo 37,490 Chilaw 21,950 Puttalam 20,010 TOTAL 79,450 Source: Ministry of Fisheries 2009 Detailed description of fisheries in each fishery district are provided in the district reports which follow; in Chapters 4, 5 and 6 of this baseline survey report. 36

64 CHAPTER 4: NEGOMBO DISTRICT 4.1 A General Overview of Fisheries in Negombo District : Socio-economic Characteristics of the Fishing Poluation Coastal Small Scale Fisheries in Negombo a. Marine coastal fisheries Negombo is a quite popular area for fisheries due to its high total landings, diversity of fishing activities and the presence of the Negombo lagoon providing livelihoods for a large number of families. Negombo is situated in the administrative district of Gampaha. It has a coastline of 40 km, 13 FI divisions and 100 landing sites (see Table 4.1). Table 4.1 gives the basic fisheries information for the Negombo Fishery District. Negombo has an active fisher population of 9,606, who live in 7,718 households. The total fisheries dependent population is 38,288. The highest number of fishers are concentrated in Pitipana, Duwa and Kudappaduwa FI Divisions. Table 4.1: Basic Fisheries Information - Negombo FI Divisions Number Number Number of Fishing Number of Number of of Landing Centres of Active Fishers Fishing Household s Dependent Population Fisheries Cooperatives other Fisheries Community Organizations Wattala , Uswatakeiyya , wa Jaela , Kapungoda Aluthkuruwa , Pitipana 05 1, , Duwa 04 1, , Town III ,017 4, Town II , Town I , Kudapaduwa 0 1, , Ettukala , Kammalthota , TOTAL 100 9,606 7,718 38, Source: Assistant Director of Fisheries, Negombo District, 2010 There are 15 fisheries cooperatives in Negombo, but the number of other types of fisheries societies (55) far exceed this number. The largest numbers of fisheries organizations are found in the FI Divisions of Wattala (09), Uswatakeiyyawa (10) and Jaela (09). Negombo has 4,053 fishing craft, consisting of 2,315 mechanized craft and 1,738 nonmechanized craft (see Table 2). The degree of mechanization of vessels is 57 percent (mechanized crafts as a percentage of total number of crafts). The FRP boat (OFRP) with out board motor (OBM) and the non-mechanized traditional boat (NTRB) are equally popular among the fishers in Negombo. 37

65 Table 4.2: Type and number of craft by FI Division - Negombo FI Division Landing Type and Number of Crafts Site IMUL IDAY OFRP MTRB NTRB NBSB Wattala Uswatakeiyyawa Jaela Kapungoda Aluthkukuwa Pitipana Duwa Town III Town II Town I Kudapaduwa Ettukala Kammalthota TOTAL , , Source: Assistant Director of Fisheries, Negombo District, 2010 Key: IMUL = Multi day boat with inboard engine; IDAY = One day boat with inboard engine; OFRP = Fibre Reinforced Plastic boat with outboard engine; MTRB = Motorized traditional boat; NTRB = Non-motorized traditional boat; NBSB = Non-motorized Beach Seine Boat The most commonly used gear by coastal small scale fishers are, hand-lines, gillnets and long lines. As revealed by information provided in Table 4.3, there are 30 beach seines in Negombo, operated in about padu (net laying sites). Kapungoda FI Division is the major net laying area. There are about 24 beach seine crafts in the area. Table 4.3: Beach seining sites and number of seine nets in Negombo FI Division Number of Beach Seines Uswatakeiyyawa 01 Kapungoda 25 Aluthkuruwa 02 Kammaltota 01 Ettukala 01 Source: Assistant Director of Fisheries, Negombo District, 2010 The total annual landings in Negombo amount to 18,407 tons (Ministry of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources - Annual Report, 2009). The highest landings are found in Pitipana, Kudapana and Town I FI Divisions. Of the large fish types, Skip jack (Katsuwonus pelamis) and tuna (Scombridae) dominate catches. A fairly high shrimp (Hymnocera) yield (966,451 kg) is also reported. 38

66 Table 4.4: Annual fish landings by type of fish (kg) - Negombo FI Division Annual landings by type of fish (Kg) TOTAL Tuna Shark Skip Jack Marlin Shrimp Seer Others (Carchahi nidae) (Paraw) Wattala 54,000-31,400 25,800 80,100 28, , ,624 Uswatakeiyyawa 90,500 86,000 44,000 35,000 52,200 39, , ,080 Jaela ,000-61, ,225 Kapungoda , ,400 9,600 79, ,285 Aluthkukuwa ,800 55,000 23,000 88, ,370 Pitipana 2,500, ,840 3,455, ,540 86, ,235 2,236,220 10,117,464 Duwa 60,200 81,000 58,400 36,800 92,000 2, , ,105 Town III 44,200-42, ,675 19, , ,356 Town II 36,000 22,000 38,000 40,000 72,000 26, , ,581 Town I ,000-1,628,419 1,684,419 Kudapaduwa 44,500 17,200 85,000-12,000 18,000 2,255,420 2,382,120 Ettukala 18,000 4,200 28,000 57,000 41, , ,500 Kammalthota ,000 66, , ,765 TOTAL 2,847,308 1,100,240 3,732, , , ,863 8,401,847 18,407,210 Source: Assistant Director of Fisheries, Negombo, 2010 a. Lagoon fisheries Negombo Lagoon Negombo lagoon is 2,800 ha in extent, bordered by a thick stand of mangroves. There are 11 islands situated in the lagoon, of which 3 have human settlements. The rest are, Killadikottam, Nainakurai, Basikanda, Mahappalama, Kakkaduwa, Mandagaskalamba, Island 1 and Island 2. The lagoon resources are exploited by about 3,200 fishers operating about 4,000 craft, belonging to 30 villages. The lagoon is rich in both shrimp and fish resources. Fishing gear commonly used by fishers are Cast net and the Trammel net. In the lagoon channels, skate nets are used, which are about 40 in number. In a good season, a fisher appears to earn between Rs. 2,000 to 5,000 per day from shrimp fishing, which is quite a high income. In the past, the fishers in the lagoon were organized into cooperative societies, which numbered 9. These cooperatives were amalgamated into the Negombo South Fisheries Cooperative Federation (NSFCF) in The NSFCF worked in close collaboration with the Department of Fisheries, which was responsible for craft registration and issuing of fishing licenses. Although specific management measures were not introduced by cooperatives, certain measures like regulations concerning the maximum length of nets (which was set at 600 meters) and fishing times (from hours to hours) were introduced following the enactment of the 1996 Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act of Although, no incidences of the use of destructive gears were reported in the past, such incidences began to take place when internally displaced war affected people started migrating into the North Western and Western Provinces. Of the diverse fisheries community organizations, the most organised, was the Kattudel Association, where the church played a major role in protecting the rights of the families involved in this activity. 39

67 On the 30 th of September 1999, the Lagoon Fisheries Management Authority was established (LFMA). Fisheries committees were established for every three villages and a total of 10 such committees were formed. The LFMA consisted of the presidents of these 10 committees. It has a membership of about 3,200 (all lagoon fishers), but women have so far not obtained the membership of the LFMA. The LFMA is taking very strict action against those using monofilament nets and other environmentally unfriendly gear in coordination with fisheries inspectors and the police. The role of the Fisheries Inspector is quite strong at the Fisheries Committee level, while that of the Assistant Director is strong at the LFMA level. However, even after establishing the LFMA, no change in the role of the officers of the Department of Fisheries has been reported, other than the issuing of fishing licenses and craft registration. The office bearers of the LFMA complain that, the organization does not have the legal authority to enforce management measures. This is a serious issue that hampers its management role. The LFMA has a number of plans to ensure high productivity of the lagoon and sustainable use of the resources. They have suggested measures like, stocking of the lagoon with shrimp larvae and, have even suggested using the land at Kimbul Bokka for rearing the seed. According to the fishers, even technical knowledge is available within the community for such purposes. Unfortunately, future plans of the LFMA had never been given any attention by the state authorities. As a remedy to this non-coordinated process of management, the LFMA suggests to establish a planning and management committee in the LFMA, consisting of learned and educated individuals (academics, researchers), DFAR, NARA, CCD, and the Divisional Secretaries of the 4 Divisions: Jaela, Wattala, Katana and Negombo Socio-economic Characteristics of the Fishery Population Introduction The survey covered a total of 1,025 fisher households in the three Fishery Districts of Negombo, Chilaw and Puttalam, consisting of 814 male fishers, craft owners, crew members and fisher helpers, and 211 women fishers. The distribution of the total sample between the three ethnic groups accounted for Sinhalese 919 (89.7 percent), Tamils 73 (7.1 percent) and Muslims 33 (3.2 percent). The distribution of sample fishers among the three districts was as follows. Negombo %, Chilaw %, and Puttalam %. The above sample household distribution and its breakdown among ethnic groups are given in Table

68 Table 4.5: Ethnic distribution of sample households by fisheries - Negombo district Ethnicity Negombo Chilaw Puttalam Total Number % Number % Number % Number % 1. Sinhalese % Tamils % Muslims % Total , Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 The total sample of 342 fisher households of Negombo district comprised of Sinhalese 98.8 percent, Tamils 0.9 percent and Muslims 0.3 percent. Out of the total sample of fishers, 3.2 percent (33) were female headed households. The survey information was collected from male members engaged in fishing (fisher, boat owner, crew member or helper). Women's sample was selected from the members of the women's fishery associations Demographic Characteristics Gender Distribution: The demographic characteristics of sample population are presented in Table 4.6. The total sample population was 1,522 persons, out which 51.6 percent were male (786) and 48.4 percent (736) were female. This gender distribution of the sample population is slightly different from the gender composition of the country s population which is 49.6 percent males and 50.4 percent females, according to 2009 population estimate of the country by the Department of Census and Statistics. Literacy: The total number of literate people in the sample population was 1,220 people where 104 persons (6.8 percent) had no schooling. This is a literacy rate of 80.2 percent, which is significantly lower than the average national literacy rate of Percentage of Samurdhi (Economic Relief provided to householders below poverty line) Recipients: The survey of Negombo district revealed that out of the total 33.2 percent of sample fishers (114 persons) are Samurdhi recipients. This proportion is comparatively higher than the proportion of Chilaw and Puttalam districts. Household Size: Of the total sample of fishers, 72.8 percent (249 fishers) had a household size of 3 5 persons. The proportion of households with 2 members or less was 7.8 percent (n = 27) and the proportion of households with six or more members amounted to 19.4 percent (n = 66). The average size of sample households is presented in Table

69 Table 4.6: Average size of sample households- Negombo Characteristic Negombo Number % 1 Female Headed Receiving Samurdhi Size of Household - 2 or less to and above Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Level of Education: Out of the total population of 1,522 persons, 73.5 percent (1,118 persons) received did not pass GCE O/L. Only 9.4 percent (141 persons passed the GCE O/L and another 2.8 percent (44 persons) passed GCE A/L. There were 4 persons (0.1 percent) with higher education. The age composition of the sample population is presented in Table 4.7. Table 4.7: Demographic characteristics of sample population- Negombo Characteristic Negombo Number % I. Number in the Household 1, Males Females ii. Age Groups 1, Below 5 Years years years years Above 60 years iii. Literacy Rate (%) iv. Education Level 1, No Schooling Below GCE O/L 1, Passed O/L Passed A/L Vocational Education Higher Education No-response Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Fishing Activity: The type of fishing activity of sample fishers, as revealed in the survey, is presented in Table

70 Table 4.8: Type of fisheries activity of sample fishers - Negombo Fishing Activity Boat Owner Crew Member Helper Temporary Crew Total Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Beach Seining Inshore Fishing Lagoon Fishing Diving/Offshore Fishing Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 As presented in Table 4.8 the largest number of households, 54.2 percent of the total, (147 persons) were engaged in coastal craft fishing, while the second largest number of households 28.4 percent (77 persons) were engaged in lagoon fishing, i.e percent of sample households were directly engaged in either fishing in inshore coastal or lagoon fisheries. In fact, the beach seining activity also needs to be included under fishing activity so that the total fishing population amounts to almost 99.3 percent. Although the survey is expected to cover only the coastal and lagoon fishery sector, 2 people (0.7 percent) were engaged diving/off shore fishing. Means of Livelihood: The other salient characteristic of the survey is the response made on the nature of fishing activity as a means of livelihood, as reported in Table Information given in Table 4.10 shows that out of the total sample of households, 82.5 percent (282 persons) stated that fishing is their main livelihood, while another 4.7 percent (16) stated that it was only a supplementary livelihood. It is observed that 44 households (or 12.9 percent of the total sample) did not to respond the question. This could be due to their unwillingness to divulge sources of income. Table 4.10: Fishing as a means of livelihood - Negombo Category Negombo Number % Major Livelihood Supplementary Livelihood No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Housing Conditions One important yardstick of measuring the economic situation of a community is their housing condition. Housing, on the one hand, depicts the standard of living of the community and, on the other hand, represents the social status compared to other communities. The present housing conditions of Negombo district fishers, together with amenities therein, indicates that they enjoy a comparatively higher socio economic status. Table 4.11 provides salient characteristics of the fisher housing conditions as reported in the survey. 43

71 Table 4.11: Salient characteristics of fisher housing - Negombo Item Negombo Number % i. Ownership Owned Rented/Leased Rent free ii. Type Permanent* Semi-permanent** Temporary! iii. Floor Area sq. ft or less sq ft Above 300 sq ft iv. Number of Rooms Rooms and less More than 2 rooms ,4 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 * Houses where the roofs, walls and the floors are constructed with permanent material **Houses where roofs, walls or floors are constructed with semi-permanent material Structure of Housing: The temporary housing proportion is 3.4 percent of sample households, as depicted in the survey. This represents an improved situation than the proportions represented in the Housing Census of 2001 where the temporary housing proportion of 24.8 percent is given for Gampaha District (Negombo fisheries district falls within the Gampaha administrative district). Ownership of Houses: In terms of house ownership, the survey revealed that only 7 percent of fishers of Negombo district own their houses, while 82.7 percent live in rented or leased houses. The remaining 10.2 percent lives in rent free houses, most probably as squatters. Floor Area: The floor area of houses is also considerably larger in Negombo district with 75 percent having a floor area of more than 100 sq. ft. (10 m 2 ). Out of the above, there were 128 fishers (43 percent of the total) living in houses with a floor area of more than 300 sq. ft. (30 m 2 ).However, 238 fishers (69.6 percent of the total sample) live in houses having 2 or less rooms. Housing Amenities: Information on amenities available for fishers housing in Negombo district is presented in Table

72 Table 4.12: Information on amenities available for fisher houses - Negombo Item Number % i. Lighting Electricity Kerosene ii. Cooking Energy LP Gas Kerosene Fuel Wood Saw Dust / paddy husk iii. Source of Drinking Water Piped Water Tube Well Protected Well Unprotected Well River/Stream Rain Water No response iv. Toilet Facilities Flush & Water Seal Pit Latrine No Latrine No response Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Lighting & Cooking Fuel: As presented in the Table 4.11, 94 percent of fisher houses use electricity for lighting and the balance 6 percent use kerosene. However, almost 98 percent of fisher households use LP Gas, kerosene and fuel wood as the main source of cooking fuel of which fuel wood using percentage is 56.4 percent of the total. Drinking Water Supply: The percentage of fishers having access to piped water was 76.6 percent of the total. This is much higher than the national coverage of piped water which is 54 percent, The proportion of fisher households using drinking water from tube wells was 7.0 percent of the total and the use of protected wells was 7.9 percent, totaling the percentage of sample households having satisfactory sources of drinking water as 91.5, which is higher than the national coverage of drinking water Ownership of Land and Assets Land ownership of sample fisher households of Negombo district is presented in Table

73 Table 4.13: Land ownership of fisher households of Negombo District Extent Negombo Number % 10 Perches or less More than 10 perches* No land ownership - No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 * Perch = m 2 Ownership of land size: All fisher households responded that they own land, but 17.3 percent (59 fishers) did not respond to the question. Of the total households, 60.2 percent (n = 206) stated they own less than 10 perches of land; 22.5 percent of the sample households (n=77) own more than 10 perches. Ownership of Household Assets: The ownership of household assets of sample fishers is given in Table Table 4.14: Household assets of fisher households - Negombo Type Negombo Number % Radio/Cassette Television Mobile Phone Sewing Machine Set of Furniture Refrigerator Computer Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Household Asset Ownership: Information in Table 4.14 indicates that the living standard of fisher households in Negombo district is comparatively higher than the other two districts of the project area. The ownership of television sets of Negombo fisher households is at a very high level of 89.8 percent (307 fishers) and radio cassettes by 68.4 percent (234). However, the percentage of fisher households having mobile phones at 70.8 percent (186), was similar to the other two districts. The table also shows that there 2.6 percent of sample households (9 persons) own computers. Vehicle Ownership: The ownership of vehicles of sample households is presented in Table

74 Table 4.15: Ownership of vehicles by Negombo fisher households Type Negombo Number % Bicycle Motor cycle Bullock Cart - Three Wheeler Van Motor Car Truck/Lorry - Bus - Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 The main vehicle owned by 49.7 percent of fisher households were bicycles, while 18.7 percent (64) of the households owned motor-cycles (same as of Chilaw) and another 5.0 percent owned three wheelers. There were only four sample households owning motor cars and vans. Ownership of Fishing Vessels and Fishing Gear: The ownership of fishing vessels and fishing gear by Negombo District fisher households is presented in Table 4.16, below. Table 4.16: Ownership of fishing vessels and fishing gear by fisher households - Negombo Type Negombo Number % Multi day boat (IMUL) One day boat (IDAY) OFRP boat MTRB NTRB NBSB Gill net Long line - Cast net - Cut to net - Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Ownership of Fishing Gear: As shown in Table 4.16, 30.4 percent (104) of sample fishers own one-day boats; 8.5 percent (29) fishers own OFRP boats; 2.6 percent (09) fishers own MTRB boats; another 2.6 percent (09) fishers own NBSB; and, 1.8 percent (06) fishers own NTRB. Also 6.1 percent of Negombo district fishers own Gill nets. However, there are 6 sample fishers owning multi-day boats, which are outside the RFLP target beneficiary group of small scale inshore fishers. 47

75 Employment, Income and Food Security of Fisher Households Information collected in the survey was analyzed to get a view of the nature of employment of the members of sample fisher households. The summarized information of Negombo district survey is presented in table Table 4.17: Numbers of household members engaged in employment categories - Negombo Type Negombo Number % Regular paid employees Casual paid employees Employers Self employed Unpaid family workers Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Structure of Employment: The total of 342 households sampled in Negombo district has 528 household members with employment. This averages to about 1.54 income earners per household and was higher than the income earners in Chilaw (1.22) and Puttalam (0.92). The majority household members, 42.2 percent, (n = 223) were employed as regular paid persons and 28.0 percent, (n =148) as casual paid labour. Another 21.6 percent (n= 114) were selfemployed. In the Negombo district 7.0 percent (n = 37) were employing others. 1.1 percent (n = 6) reported that they worked as unpaid family workers. Table 4.18 provides information on the average monthly income of the income earning members of fisher households in Negombo District. Table 4.18: Average monthly income of fisher household income earners - Negombo Level of Income Negombo Number % Below Rs. 2,500 per month Rs. 2,501-5,000 per month Rs. 5,001-10,000 per month Above Rs. 10, Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Monthly Income: Table 4.18 shows 42.2 percent) of income earners of fisher family members (207)) receiving a monthly income of more than Rs. 10,000 and another 23.3 percent (114) receiving monthly income between Rs. 5,001 10,000. Accordingly, 65.5 percent of fisher family members earn a monthly income of Rs or more. This information is consistent with the information given in Table 4.6 showing the number of households receiving Samurdhi assistance. Food Security: A question was asked from all fisher households about the availability of food for household consumption during the past 12 months. In this regard, the enumerators were instructed to assist interviewees to recall the most difficult periods of food shortage 48

76 during the past 12 months and go forward and backward to obtain the most correct answers. The main question was to collect information on the number of meals consumed per day by the household during the past 12 months. The responses received from the sample households are summarized in Table Table 4.19: Consumption pattern of sample households during the past 12 months Negombo district Number of Meals / Day Negombo Number % 3 meals per day meals per day meal per day Other - Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Available information shows that 92.9 percent of sample families were able to consume three meals a day throughout the past 12 months, with another 6.6 percent of households consumed two meals per day during some days of the last 12 months Only 2 fisher households (0.5 percent of the total sample) stated that they were able to consume only one meal per day, during some days of the last 12 months. However, about 45 percent of households (158 out of the total of 342 households) stated that while they had faced disruptions due to nonavailability of food, at times, during the last one year they were able to get around the situation by taking action (see Table 4.20). Table 4.20: Type of actions taken during food shortages - Negombo Type of Action Negombo Number % Reduced the number of meals eaten Consumed substitutes Pawned jewelry or other items Borrowed money Total (Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 About 39 percent of sample households did not respond the question. Of the households who responded, 45.0 percent stated that they face problems but faced the situation positively. Of the balance 16.1 percent stated that they had not faced any problems. Only fisher households responded to the question on the impact of food shortage on households members in terms of some identified outcomes. Four possible impacts were listed in the questionnaire and enumerators were advised to discuss with the respondents and obtain the most appropriate impacts and then to have respondents rank them in order of priority. In fact, the total number of households which responded the question was only 60, of which only 29 fishers ranked the items as requested. The responses are presented in Table

77 Table 4.21: Impact of food shortage on fisher households (Priority ranking) - Negombo Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 Total Type of Impact Number % Number % Number % Number % Severe effect on health Search for alternative employment Loss of productivity Loss of school days Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Fishers were asked to comment or present their views related to food shortages suffered during the past 12 months by household members. The responses received from Negombo sample fishers are presented in table Table 4.22: Comments/remarks related to food shortage - Negombo Type of Comment Negombo Number % 1. Farming of homestead plants No way to have a such a situation No chance to do a job Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 As revealed by Table 4.22, only 15 households (or 4.4 percent of the total sample) responded to the question. The answers may not therefore be representative of fisher households in Negombo district. Alcohol Consumption: Another question addressed to the fisher household collected information on their consumption of illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco. The question was responded by 58.6 percent of sample households. The results are presented in Table Table 4.23: Number of persons consuming drugs, alcohol and tobacco - Negombo Type Negombo Number % Illegal drugs Tobacco Alcohol Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 In terms of reported data, only 3.9 percent (n= 7) of total sample fishers of Negombo district reported consuming illegal drugs but a larger number of fishers, 64.8 percent (n= 116) smoke tobacco. Also 29.6 percent (n= 53) consume alcohol. Frequency of drug use: The question included another component to identify the frequency of consuming drugs, alcohol or tobacco. These responses are given in Table

78 Table 4.24: Frequency of consuming drugs, tobacco and alcohol - Negombo Frequency Negombo Number % Daily About once a week About once in two weeks About once a month Occasionally Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, percent of consumers consume alcohol and/or tobacco almost daily; another 32.2 percent about once a week; and, the balance either occasionally or once every two weeks or once a month. Expenditure on Alcohol and Tobacco: The third component of the question was to state the amount of money they spend on drugs, alcohol or tobacco. Table 4.25 presents the declarations on average expenditure on drugs etc. Table 4.25: Monthly expenditure on drugs, alcohol and tobacco - Negombo Frequency Negombo Number % < Rs. 100 per month - Rs per month Rs per month More than Rs. 1,001 per month Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Monthly Expenditure: About 87 percent of fishers stated that they spend more than Rs. 500 per month on drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Of the above, 63 percent stated they spend more than Rs. 1,000 per month. This means that their average monthly expenditure on drugs, tobacco and alcohol is equivalent to at least 25 percent of monthly income declared at the sample survey. From this it appears that they have either over-estimated the amount they spend on tobacco and alcohol or have under estimated their income, hoping to get either government assistance or RFLP support. Child Labour: The other questions of the questionnaire requesting information on engagement of children in fisheries activities were responded negatively. Therefore, it is accepted that no fisher is employing child labour in Negombo fisheries district. In this regard, it is important to state that the law of the land prohibits any person, irrespective of whether they are parents or relatives, employing any child below school going age i.e. less than 14 years of age. The police as well as the National Child Protection Authority are very vigilant and prosecute anybody who is violating the legal provision in a court of law. This prevents employing children on paid or unpaid activities of an income generating nature. Thus no one reported unpaid work by any family members under the age of

79 4.2 Co-Management Evolution of Fisheries in Negombo Evolution of the fisheries sector in Negombo district was studied by using the 'historical profile' technique at Focus Group Discussions held with the fishers, As revealed by the information furnished in Table 4.26 the number of fishing crafts, landing sites, infrastructural facilities, fish price, number of middlepersons, and government and NGO intervention in fisheries, have all increased, during the past 15 years. A slight decrease in the fish stock was noted by fishers. The increasing fishing gear and operational costs would have definitely had negative impacts on the sector. Although the impact of the war has been quite destructive, the situation should have improved after the termination of the armed conflict. Border crossing by Indian crafts is becoming an issue, which often gives rise to conflicts among fishers of the two countries, while decreasing the fish stocks available to the local population. One important observation is the decline in the number of active fishers. Although concrete proof of the reasons for such decline are hard to find, this perceived decline in the number of active sea-going fishers may be because the number of vessels engaging hired labour has gone down. Table 4.26: Evolution of the fisheries sector of Negombo Criteria Fish stock Fishing crafts Active fishers Average family size Landing sites Conflicts among fishers Work load for officers Infrastructure facilities Fish price $ $$ $$$$$ Middlepersons J J J J J J J J J J Cost of fishing gears B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B Operational cost for fishing Government intervention NGOs intervention Destruction to fisheries resources due to Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y natural hazards Problems due to crossing the international sea border Impact of war A A A A A A A A A A A A Source: Focus Group Discussions Past and present policies There have been many changes in the management of fisheries, arising from changes in policy in respect of community organizations, resources management, safety, quality control, technology, infrastructure, as revealed by information furnished in Table Information 52

80 was obtained through open discussions and agreements reached on past and present policies. Table 4.27: Past and Present Policies related to fisheries - Negombo Policy Past Present Impact Improve Through National Fisheries Congress Able to operate organization of fisheries cooperative independently without fishing being controlled by the community societies Department of Cooperatives and their rules and regulations Improve Fisheries Resources managed Introduce necessary rules and regulations through Acts of Protect and conserve the fisheries resources resources according to parliament (ex. Licensing of management community fishing operations, banning the rules use of destructive gear, etc.) Safety Poor attention Introduction of insurance schemes, pension scheme for fishers, promoting life jacket usage and radio satellite communication systems Quality control Relaxed and easy rules and regulations Fishing crafts Development of infrastructure facilities Traditional and small scale crafts Lack of or poor facilities Introduction of new rules and regulations. Improved infrastructure facilities. Established a quality control unit at DFAR. Modernized fishing vessels with advanced technology for off-shore fisheries Provided multi-day boats Rapid development of the fisheries infrastructure (ex. construction of harbours, roads, provision of electricity, water, houses, hamlets, and educational facilities for children of fisher families Source: Focus Group Discussions with Fisheries Officials Negombo District, 2010 Note: No similar FGD was done with fish community members Understanding of the concept of co-management Fishers able to cope with fishing- risks. Ensure safety of fishers Availability of high quality fish and fisheries products for both local and foreign markets Increased fish production. Reduced cost of production. Increased quality of fish harvest. Improved living standards and socioeconomic status of fishing communities Increased contribution of the fisheries industry to the economy Fishers appear to have poorly understood the concept of co-management, only about a third of fishers in Negombo said that they knew what it meant. Disaggregation of information by technological category revealed that none of the fishers understood well the concept of comanagement, though the majority belonging to all technological categories knew what it was 53

81 to some degree. The fishers operating traditional crafts and small boats with OBM were the least informed in this category (see Table 4.28). Table 4.28: Extent of understanding of the concept of co-management - Negombo Extent of understanding of the concept of co-management Percentage of fishers reporting NTRB NBSB (n=103) MTRB OFRP (n=126) Lagoon (n=5) Percentage of women reporting (n=41) Understand well Understand to some degree Do not understand Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 One of the difficulties here was related to the specific term used. Although fishers knew that both state and non-state (community) actors were involved in managing fisheries resources, they could not relate this to co-management, because of a lack of awareness and understanding of the concept. Slightly more women than man understood the concept of comanagement, with more than 70 percent of women s tating that they either understood the concept well or to some degee Presence of co-management systems Only about 27 percent of the fishers reported that there exist co-management systems in their area. The actors involved in co-management were found to be, i) the community; ii) the government; and iii) some Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs). According to the understanding of fishers, the community and government involvement in co-management were 53.6 percent and 42 percent respectively, showing fairly equal involvement of state and non-state actors. The NGO involvement appears to be negligible in comparison (Table 4.29). Table 4.29: Involvement of diverse actors in co-management - Negombo (fishers 177, women 39) Involvement of diverse actors in co-management Percentage of fishers reporting All Percentage of fisher women reporting Community only Government only NGO No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 More women (about a third) reported the presence of co-management in the coastal fisheries sub-sector in Negombo, and more than 50 percent of them believed that it is only the community which was mostly involved in co-management. Only 3 percent of the women reported the involvement of the government. 54

82 Focus Group Discussions with fisheries officials and with fishers revealed that there are about five main organizations involved in fisheries co-management in Negombo. The various organizations, the extent of involvement of both community and state actors and the management issues identified are given in Table 4.30 below. Table 4.30: Type of co-management organizations in fisheries - Negombo Organization Extent of involvement of Management Issues Community and State actors (Community: state) 1. Fisheries Community - 50%: Dept. of Lack of a proper management system Cooperative Cooperatives - 25%: Dept. of Lack of sufficient funds Societies Fisheries - 25%) Poor educational background of members 2. Fisheries and Community - 50% : Dept. of Political intervention Lagoon Fisheries - 50% Weakness Management structure in the administrative Authority Improper methods of waste disposal 3. Rural Fisheries Community - 50% : Dept. of Lack of confidence in the Organization Fisheries - 50% organization 4. Kattudel Community - 95% : Religious Conflict with other fishers Association Leader - 5% 5. Beach Seine Community - 75% : Dept. of Do not allow for modernization Association Fisheries - 25% Source: Focus Group Discussions 2010 All five organizations mentioned above are assumed to be involved in fisheries management. However, no evidence is available in the past, of any of these organizations (except the Rural Fisheries Organization, which is recent) being involved in fisheries management. In fact, management for many of the people was perceived to be management of the organization itself, rather than management of the fisheries resources with the aim of maintaining the sustainability of the resources. Although, in general, fisheries cooperatives are not considered as co-management bodies, the presence of the FI at monthly meetings and functions performed by him in making people aware of the consequences of destructive (environmentally un-friendly) fishing gear and in resolving conflicts among fishers, show that fisheries cooperatives are also involved in co-management to a certain extent. This is also true with beach seine associations, where the nets have to be registered with the Department of Fisheries. However, all these are cases of the existence of co-management to varying degree. In fact, the involvement of the state itself has brought about a number of management measures into the organizations (except the Kattudel Association, where there has been no state involvement), such as advice on the adverse impacts of certain banned gears, registration of beach seines, taking into custody those using prohibited (because they are destructive) gear, etc. In the case of conflict resolution, the officials of the Department of Fisheries collaborate with fisher community organizations, the police, the navy, the air force, NGOs (such as the National Fisheries Solidarity) and the church. On these grounds, fisheries cooperative societies, rural fisheries organizations, beach seine associations and lagoon management authority can all be considered as organizations involved to a certain extent in fisheries co-management. The officers of the Department of Fisheries thought that their involvement in co-management in cooperative societies (fisheries cooperatives and rural fisheries organizations) was about 50 percent. What is lacking is a proper co-management 55

83 plan and standard mechanisms. Co-management is only implicit in various activities, but not explicitly stated or implemented. Among the various issues associated with these cooperative organizations were, lack of any proper management plan, poor educational achievements of members and poor financial status, while in the case of the Lagoon Fisheries Management Authority, they included, political intervention, weak administrative structure and improper waste disposal. It is too premature to state anything about the Rural Fisheries Organizations, which have been established since August Attitudes of fishers towards fisheries management systems The questionnaire used in field studies attempted to gather information on how the respondents perceived fisheries management as the responsibility of different actors; the community and the state. Aggregate sample data indicated that 45.5 percent of the fishers believed that both the state and the community should jointly manage the resources, indicating the importance of forming public-private partnerships in management and the importance of co-management. Surprisingly, about 31 percent of fishers were of the view that, management should only be a responsibility of the government, revealing their lack of faith in community organizations in managing fisheries resources (see Table 4.31). Table 4.31: Fishers perception about management systems Negombo district Type of management system Percentage of fishers reporting NTRB NBSB (n=83) MTRB OFRP (n=87) 56 Lagoon (n=3) All Percentage of women reporting (n=48) There should be only traditional management system The traditional management system should be changed There should be a combination of traditional and formal management system There should be only formal management system No response 32.4 Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Data disaggregated by technological category revealed a few important differences from the aggregate data (Table 4.31). Only a small percentage (15.7 percent) of traditional fishers (operating non-motorized crafts) were confident that the state alone could manage the resources, where as fishers operating small crafts with OBM had higher confidence (47 percent of fishers) in state management of fisheries resources. Surprisingly, 67 percent of the lagoon fishers suggested that there should only be state management of resources. This could be due to three reasons; first, Negombo lagoon management by the Lagoon Fisheries Management Authority where state involvement remains quite high. Thus, the above results reveal a situation where people are gaining confidence in the involvement of the government in resource management. Second, this could also mean the inefficiencies associated with

84 community management of resources, reveal the failure of the community to adopt the required management measures to ensure the sustainability of the resources. Thrid, the Negombo lagoon is used by mult i-stakeholders who would generate externalities on other parties and it appears that only the state could manage the resources by resolving these diverse resource use r conflicts. The fact that only a small percentage of the respondents believe (8 percent without much differences among technological cat egories) that the lagoon resources can not be manage d by traditional institutions (community alone), could mean that fishers may have faith in a public-private partnership type of co-management. The responses of women to the same question give a different picture. Women had no confidence in community management of the resources, and the majority of them (45.1 percent) thought that only formal type of management systems would succeed. About 17 percent of the women also thought that fisheries management should be a combined responsibility of the state and the community, i.e. fisheries resources should be co-managed Extent of Government Involvement The government involvement in fisheries management appears to be low. About 27 percent fishers reported that there was moderate involvement, while more than half of them (57 percent) reported that the government involvement was low. The fact that nearly 14 percent of the fishers did not respond to this question may show their lack of involvement in the management process (Table 4.32). Table 4.32: Extent of government involvement from the point of view of fishers and fisher women - Negombo (fishers 234, women 61) Percentage of fishers reporting Percentage of women reporting The responses Extent of Government Involvement High involvement Moderate involvement Low involvement No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 The response of women to the same query was not too dissimilar to that of men, with 31 percent and 42.3 percent of the women reporting moderate and low involvement of the government, respectively Extent of satisfaction of fishers with the present management System Only a negligible percentage of fishers (2 percent) were highly satisfied with the present management system, and about a fifth of the fishers (19 percent) were satisfied with it. The less satisfied group represented 34 percent of respondent fishers. The 'dissatisfied' group was also quite sizeable (23 percent). Data disaggregated by technological category indicate that, the large majority of lagoon fishers; 60 percent, were less satisfied with the present management, although the Lagoon Fisheries Management Authority is expected to adopt the required management measures (Table 4.33). 57

85 Table 4.33: People s satisfaction with the present management system - Negombo Extent satisfaction the management system of with present NTRB NBSB (n=103) Percentage of fishers reporting MTRB OFRP (n=126) Lagoon (n=5) All (n=234) Percentage of women reporting (n=62) Highly satisfied Satisfied Less satisfied Dissatisfied No idea / don t know No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 In contrast to the responses of men, about 37 percent of the women reported that they were either highly satisfied (5.6 percent) or satisfied (31 percent) with the present management system, showing their higher confidence in the current management system than men. The fact that only a small percentage of fishers (12 percent) did not respond to this question indicates that a fairly high percentage of fishers knew what management meant and what the present management system was doing to ensure the sustainability of resources Participation in meetings related to management It should be emphasized again that, organizations of the small-scale fishers studied included fisheries cooperatives and the Lagoon Fisheries Management Authority. Thus the term meeting is used to indicate the meetings held by these organizations. Fisher s participation in meetings was measured on a scale ranging from regular participation to no participation. Almost a fourth of the fisher respondents (24.4) regularly participate in meetings, while about 18 percent of them do not participate in meetings at all. Those who have not responded (14.4 percent) might also fall into the latter category, because those who attend meetings take pride in reporting their involvement in community activities. A fairly high proportion (29.2 percent) participate in meetings only rarely (see Table 4.34). Table 4.34: Participation in meetings related to fisheries management - Negombo Participation meetings in NTRB NBSB (n=90) Percentage of fishers reporting MTRB OFRP (n=102) Lagoon (n=5) All (n=197) Percentage of women reporting (n=68) Regularly Occasionally Rarely Never No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District,

86 Interestingly, the extent of women participation in meetings was found to be very high (62 percent), revealing either their higher involvement in the fisheries management process or perhaps less likely, that the meetings were held when their husbands are out at sea fishing. Figure 4.1 indicates the extent of participation of women in management and their involvement in decision making as revealed at the focus group discussions, where the women participants were asked to mark their responses in any of the four quadrants shown in figure 4.1. Decision Making Participation Figure 4.1: Extent of participation and decision making by women in fisheries management It is quite clear that women s participation in diverse associations involved in fisheries management and that their involvement in management decision making remains quite high in Negombo. Disaggregated data by technological category (Table 4.34) gives a similar picture for all types of fishers except for lagoon fishers. A very high proportion of lagoon fishers (60 percent) said that they participate in meetings only rarely. This was quite an unexpected situation, because an organization exists a kind of co-management body, which was established with the aim of managing fisheries resources efficiently. Participation of state officials Among a number of objectives, focus group discussions with fishers in Negombo were also aimed at understanding the involvement of various officers in the activities of fisheries organizations. The majority of the fishers participated in Focus Group Discussions were members of the Lagoon Fisheries Management Authority (LFMA) and they all mentioned (100 percent) involvement of the Assistant Director of Fisheries and the Fisheries Inspector at LFMA meetings. 59

87 However, focus group discussions with women did not indicate the same type of involvement by state officers, as revealed by Figure 4.2. It should be noted that information was obtained in respect of participation and involvement of state officers in fisheries cooperatives. Fishers Officers Fisheries Inspector Extent of Participation Extent of Involvement Assistant Director Source: Focus Group Discussions- Negombo District, 2010 Figure 4.2: Perception of women fishers on the extent of participation and involvement in fisheries management by state officers - Negombo Women reported high participation of the Fisheries Inspector (75 percent) at the meetings of fisheries cooperatives, but the involvement of the FI in management decision making was reported as being lower (25 percent). Both participation and involvement in decision making by the Assistant Director of Fisheries was low. Of course, the Assistant Director of Fisheries does not generally participate in meetings of individual cooperatives Organizations related to fisheries management and type of involvement There are three major organizations related to fisheries management; the Fisheries Cooperative Society which is the dominant form of fisheries organization within the coastal fisheries sub-sector; the Lagoon Fisheries Management Authority (LFMA); and the newly established Rural Fisheries Organization. However, people also indicated that the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) was an organization involved in fisheries management. Both the Cooperative Society and the LFMA have held four meetings during the last 6 months, whereas NARA had organized only two. On an average fishers have attended 3 meetings out of the 4 meeting held in the LFMA and 2 out of the 4 meetings held by the cooperative society. All fishers have attended the 2 meetings organized by the NARA. (Table 4.35) Table 4.35: Meetings held by fisher organizations and meeting attendance - fishers - Negombo Fishermen reporting District Negombo Name Organization of Average number of meetings held during last 6 months 60 Average number of meetings attended during last 6 months Fisheries Society 4 3 Fisheries cope Society 4 2 NARA 2 2 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010

88 Women reported that the Dheevara Kantha Sangamaya (Fisher Women s Association) was also involved in various fisheries-related activities to some extent and thus was an actor in the process of fisheries management. Women reported a higher number of meetings held by the cooperative society and other organizations than men, indicating that they are more active socially than men. Moreover, as revealed by information furnished in Table 4.36, they attended almost all meetings. Again the involvement of women in activities of community organizations remains was quite high. Table 4.36: Meetings held by fisher organizations and meeting attendance - women- Negombo Women Name of Average Number of meetings Average Number of meetings Organization held during last 6 months attended during last 6 months Fisheries Society Fisheries cooperative Society Fisheries Ladies Society Sanasa Society Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Type of participation in current management practices The questionnaire aimed at eliciting information on respondents' involvement in, i) Planning, ii) Decision making, iii) Rule Enforcement, iv) Conflict Resolution, and, v) Dealing with Outsiders. As indicated in Table 4.37, about a fourth of all fishers do not participate in any management activity. Approximately a fourth of others did not respond to the question, which may also mean their absence from any involvement in management, which would make the total of non-participating fishers around 50 percent. Disaggregated data by technological category indicate that between percent of traditional fishers; those using non-motorized crafts and the beach seine fishers participate in planning and decision making, which is higher than for other technological categories. It is also interesting to note that the only activity in which lagoon fishers participated was conflict resolution. A large percentage of lagoon fishers (40 percent) reporting having no involvement in any of kind of management activities. 61

89 Table 4.37: Participation in management practices - fishers and women - Negombo Management practice Percentage of fishers reporting 62 Percentage of women reporting (n=52) NTRB NBSB (n=90) MTRB OFRP (n=88) Lagoon (n=5) All (n=183) Planning Decision Making Rule Enforcement Conflict Resolution Dealing with outsiders No Involvement No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 In contrast to men, only 17 percent of the fisher women reported of non-participation in the current management processes, while the rest were actively involved in planning (18 percent), decision making (38.7 percent), conflict resolution (21.6 percent) etc. Definitely women appear to be more actively involved in the process of management than men. Most of the women participated in focus group discussions in Negombo were members of the new rural fisheries organization. They indicated their earlier membership in fisheries cooperatives, but are now quite hopeful about the new association. Women said that the participation of the FI remained very high. He has made the members of the association well aware of the consequences of the destructive gear and the most environmentally friendly type of gear that should be used Extent of influence of actions of fishers in improving fisheries management Information on the extent to which fishers actions have influenced management process was obtained on a scale ranging from strong influence to no influence. In general, the actions of fishers have had no strong influence on the management process. However, more than 40 percent of fishers said that their actions have moderately influenced the process of management. Nearly 37 percent of the fishers reported that their actions had either little or no influence on the management process (Table 4.38). Table 4.38: Influence of actions of fishers and women in improving management (n = fishers 233, women 68) - Negombo Actions of fishers/women influencing improvement in fisheries management Percentage of fishers reporting Percentage of women reporting Strongly influenced Moderately influenced Little influenced No influence No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010

90 In contrast to what was reported by men, 76 percent of women reported that their actions have either strongly or moderately influenced improvements in the management process. Again women s active participation in the management process was quite evident Impact of fisheries management in improving the well being of fishers As revealed by information provided in Table 4.39, only 13.7 percent of fishers felt that there was no impact of fisheries management on their well being, while 7 percent of fishers reported that the impact on their well being has been high. The majority of fishers (about 66 percent) reported that the impact on their well being had been either moderate or minimal However, the fact that 35 percent of the fishers reported a moderate impact of management on their well being, shows that fisheries management has paid dividends. Table 4.39: Impact of fisheries management on well being improvements (n = fishers 229 women 70) - Negombo Impact of fisheries management on Percentage of Percentage of women reporting wellbeing improvements fishers reporting High impact Moderate impact Little impact No impact No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 The higher number of women responding to this query than men shows that women were more assured about the impacts of management on the well being of fishers and their families than men. A quite a high proportion of women (about 78 percent) reported that fisheries management either had a high or moderate impact on well being improvement Suggestions for improvement of stakeholder involvement in fisheries management Information obtained on the various suggestions made by fishers to improve stakeholder involvement in fisheries management given in Table 4.40 reveal that the interest in management is closely related to whether fishers are able to secure the diverse fisheries needs or, whether they can assure sustainable livelihoods. All suggestions made by fishers were related to their profession and what they require to improve their well being as fishers. For 32 percent of fishers, strengthening and providing assistance to cooperatives was the most important factor in obtaining a higher involvement of fishers in management. Assistance of the state and non-state actors (NGOs) was proposed by about 21 percent of the respondents. Provision of credit and subsidies to fisheries was suggested by approximately 15 percent of fishers, while about percent proposed the organization of awareness and training programmes for fishers and the provision of crafts, gear and other equipment at concessionary rates. Although reported by less than 5 percent of fishers, it is important to note fishers suggestions like, the maintenance of harmony among diverse stakeholders and organizing regular dialogue among them and, the use of cooperatives to voice fisheries issues for the attention of the government. 63

91 Table 4.40: Suggestions for improvement of current stakeholder practices in fisheries management (n = fishers 232, women 62) - Negombo Suggestions for improvement in current stakeholder involvement in fisheries management Percentage of fishers reporting Percentage of women reporting Soft loans and grants Provision of nets and equipment at concessionary rates Training for self employment and educative and awareness campaigns Welfare improvement of fishers Intervention in fish prices Facilitate further entry into fisheries Increase government support and the support of non-state actors to fisheries Improve and provide facilities to cooperatives Contribution to fisheries by honest officers and changes in management Introduce new technology Establish harmony among different stakeholders by organizing regular meetings Resolving problems in fisheries Banning illegal activities Ability to voice fisher problems through the cooperatives Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Women too suggested a number of measures aiming at well being improvement, through improved stakeholder involvement in the current management process. Their major suggestions were the provision of soft loans and grants (37.8 percent), training for selfemployment (20 percent) and the provision of fishing equipment at concessionary rates (18.9 percent). Probably, the first two suggestions were aimed at improving their access to alternative livelihood opportunities. Expansion of government support to fisheries was also suggested by 10 percent of women Influence of changes in fisheries management on the status of fisheries resources Only about 6.6 percent of the fishers reported that management changes would be highly beneficial for the resources (Table 4.41). However, fishers believe that management changes will be moderately beneficial for the status of the resources, as reported by nearly 70 percent of the fishers. Very few (8.5 percent) reported that management changes have no benefits for resource status. It was also noted that impacts of management changes on resources take a long time and are also difficult to observe unless correct assessments are made. Moreover, certain changes in management, like the establishment of new community organizations Rural Fisheries Organization, were quite recent and fishers are unlikely to have observed any changes in the status of fisheries resources during this short time period. 64

92 Table 4.41: Influence of management changes on the status of resources (n = fishers 231) - Negombo Influence of management changes on the status of resources Percentage of fishers reporting Highly beneficial 6.6 Moderately beneficial 69.7 Little beneficial 0.4 Not beneficial 8.5 No response 14.8 Total 100 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Importance of management measures that have been introduced Fisher respondents were asked to rank four types of management changes, according to their importance: i) input control; ii) output control; iii) organizational changes; and, iv) women s participation. Input control was explained to them as measures like control over types of gear used, type of fishing techniques, number of pieces of nets, number of fishers and boats, etc., while output control generally included type and quantities of resources harvested. Organizational changes involved the establishment of new community organizational structures such as the Rural Fisheries Organization, changes in the organizational structure of the existing organizations, such as the fisheries cooperatives, etc. As revealed in Table 4.42, the fisher respondents thought that input control was the most important form of management change, followed by output control, organizational changes and the participation of women. Table 4.42: Importance of Fisheries Management Measures (n = fishers 168, women 48) - Negombo Importance of management measures Average Rank Average Rank given by women given by fishers Input control Output control Organizational changes Women participation Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 While input control was ranked first by women, they also thought that their participation was also quite important in management (ranked 2) Organizations / persons, instrumental in introducing management changes Fishers identified only the fisheries community organizations, state officials, politicians and the RFLP project as those organizations / persons instrumental in introducing management changes. However, the ranking exercise carried out with the respondents revealed the order of ranks (from high to low) as, community organization, state officials, politicians and the RFLP project. Of course the RFLP project has only just commenced and to date very little work has been done in this sphere (Table 4.43). The involvement of politicians could be related to the recent decision by the Minister of Fisheries to establish the Rural Fisheries Organizations, in order to better meet the needs of the sector. 65

93 Table 4.43: Organizations and persons introducing management changes (n = fishers 187, women 54) - Negombo Organization/persons management changes introducing Avg. Rank given by fishers Avg. Rank given by women Community Organization State officials Politicians RFLP Project Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 The results of the same exercise with women produced essentially the same results. In general, the results revealed the importance of both public (government) and private (community) involvement in introducing the desired management changes and therefore supports the case for co-management of fisheries resources Perception of fishers about the status of fisheries resources The perception of respondents about the status of the resources was measured on a 5 point scale; good, satisfactory and improving, satisfactory, poor, poor and degrading, no idea. Only a small percentage of fishers (3.3 percent) said that the resources were in a good status. A sizeable proportion of the respondents (42 percent) were of the view that the status of the resources was satisfactory (see Table 4.44). On the other hand, 13.3 percent thought that the resources were in a poor status. About 13 percent thought that the resources were further degrading while 9 percent thought that the status of the resources was improving. For more than 80 percent of respondent fishers, the status of the resources was either only satisfactory, poor, or poor and degrading. It appears that, although there is no serious threat, the resources are under considerable pressure and there exists the danger of further resource degradation. Table 4.44: Fishers perception about the status of the resources (n = 260) - Negombo Perception 66 Percentage of fishers reporting Good 3.3 Satisfactory and improving 8.9 Satisfactory 41.7 Poor 28.0 Poor and degrading 13.3 No idea / don t know 0.7 No response 4.1 Total 100 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Institutions/organizations involved in conflict resolution A number of institutions are involved in conflict resolution to a varying degree. No institution appears to possess a high capacity for resolving conflicts (Table 4.45). Of those possessing an average capacity to resolve conflicts, the Department of Fisheries (11.4 percent), fisheries cooperatives (16.2 percent) and the recently established Rural Fisheries Organizations (18.5

94 percent) were ranked as having more importance. However, the absence of any effective state or community organization or a partnership of both, in resolving coastal fisheries conflicts in Negombo is noteworthy and this was reported by a large percentage of fishers The relatively important role played by community organizations in resolving conflicts should also be noted. Of particular interest is the high proportion of fishers not responding to this question (often exceeding 75 percent), which could mean, either the absence of any conflicts or the absence of any organization to deal with conflicts in fisheries. Table 4.45: Institutions / Organizations involved in Conflict resolution (n = fishers 133, women 151) - Negombo Percentage of fishers reporting Percentage of Women reporting Organization involved in conflict resolution Capacity No Capacity No All High Average Low response High Average Low response All 1. Dept. of Fisheries Dept. of Fisheries + Fisheries Societies Fisheries Cooperative Society Rural Fisheries Organization Other Fisheries Society Religious organizations Local informal groups No standard authority Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Information obtained from women gave a different picture in respect of organizations involved in conflict resolution. The Department of fisheries in coordination with the fisheries cooperative societies, the Department alone, and the fisheries cooperatives alone, all appear to be involved in conflict resolution to a moderate (average) extent. These results may give a more realistic picture of the actual situation, because women are more involved in the activities of the cooperatives than men People reaping benefits from fisheries Since benefits from fisheries are distributed among a number of stakeholders, such as equipment owners, crew workers, traders, etc. it is important to determine how fisheries benefits are distributed among various stakeholder categories. Information on this issue was obtained through a ranking exercise, where ranks from 1 to 6 were arranged to different stakeholders according to the size of benefits reaped, (see Table 4.46). 67

95 Table 4.46: Persons reaping benefits from fisheries - Negombo (n = fishers 217, women 67)- Negombo Persons reaping benefits from fisheries 68 Avg. Rank given by fishers Avg. Rank given by women Fishers Boat Owners Crew members Middlepersons Sellers Consumers Fish processors Exporters Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 The results of the ranking exercise with both fishers and women revealed that the highest benefits are reaped by Middlepersons, boat owners, and fish sellers, with slight variations in ranking between the two groups. Both, fishers and women have ranked next, the crew members. For men the ranking then followed, fishers, exporters, fish processors, and consumers, while for women the respective order was fish processors, exporters, fishers, and consumers, as those reaping benefits next. The exercise revealed that, consumers were perceived to benefit least from fisheries, probably due to high fish prices. What is interesting is to note the status of the fishers, who were categorized below crew members by both fishers and women. The fishers category here included sea going vessel owners, especially those operating small traditional crafts and boats, while boat owners fell were often categorized as non- sea-going vessel owners, especially those owning large mechanized vessels. Crew members were predominately those working on larger vessels. 4.3 Safety at Sea General information on safety at sea Coastal fishing in Negombo is mostly done (65 percent) by FRP boats ranging in length from feet ( m). Around 50 percent of the fishing crafts are engaged in fishing activities of less than one day duration. Around 50 percent of these boats were nearly 6 to 10 years old. Almost all fishing crafts engaged in coastal fishing conduct fishing operations on the continental shelf, i.e. inshore fishing. As the Sri Lankan continental shelf is narrow (average 22 km) many boats conduct fishing operations close to each other. Most fishers, (around 90 percent) can swim and some (10 percent) can also dive. The number of accidents and deaths reported during the last three years is considered low. As fishers know their local fishing area well, many of them do not even think about safety at sea as a serious issue. Hence fishers do not normally use life jackets; do not take first aid kits; do not take life rings; do not use fire extinguishers and many of them do not take extra fuel, extra food or extra water. Almost all fishers can navigate small fishing crafts efficiently, but many of them (85 percent) do not have official navigational competency certificates. Although many of them have not undergone any sort of training on fishing, they are skilled enough to conduct fishing operations. The definition given to the word coastal fisheries is gradually changing due to new developments in the fisheries sector. Similar to many other areas of the country, some of the

96 fishers use FRP day boats powered by horse power (HP) outboard engines to make their fishing operations efficient. Using these high powered engines they can go further out to sea during the same one day period. Some fishers are fishing further offshore using small boats. Similarly, divers who were previously only diving limited depths are now diving in deeper waters in search of aquatic resources. Because of these recent developments "safety at sea issues" have become more important. Many fishers give "safety at sea" in coastal fisheries minimal consideration for the following reasons, a) Space limitations on small fishing crafts; b) Short duration of fishing trips; c) Availability of many known fishers in nearby areas engaged in similar type of fishing operations at any given time; d) Helpful nature of fishers; e) Seafaring life style; f) Familiarity with the same fishing ground over a long period of time; and, g) Ability to reach the coast within only a few hours Ability to make minor engine repairs at sea The ability to make minor engine repairs at sea in an emergency situation is essential for the safety of all crew members. According to the survey results, the competency of fishers to make minor engine repairs at sea is considered be very good 5.5 percent, good 14.2 percent and poor 80.3 percent respectively. The ability of fishers to make minor engine repairs at sea is given in Table Table 4.47: Ability of fishers to make minor engine repairs at sea (n = 52) - Negombo Level of competency to conduct Percentage of fishers a minor engine repair at sea Poor 80.3 Good 14.2 Very good 5.5 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Swimming and Diving According to the survey results, around 90 percent of the coastal fishers in Negombo can swim well. This is a satisfactory situation. In an emergency situation all fishers should be able to swim at least a short distance until they get hold onto something safe. As revealed in the survey in Negombo district 52 percent of the fishers can also dive. Information collected on the number of fishers who can swim and dive is given in Table Table 4.48: Swimming and diving ability among fishers (swimming n = 241, diving n=141) - Negombo Swimming ability Percentage of fishers Diving ability Percentage of fishers Poor/impossible 11.1 Poor/ impossible 48.0 Good 60.5 Good 47.0 Very good 28.4 Very good 05.0 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District,

97 There are certain fishers who conduct only diving related fishing activities. Although all can dive well only 20 percent have undergone proper training on SCUBA diving. Many of the Negombo divers go to other places such as Kirinda, Trincomallee, Pothuwil, Kalipinya, etc. for diving. According to the interviewed divers, 2 to 5 percent are suffering from different types of illnesses as a result engaging in diving as a profession Diving related fisheries There are four commercially important coastal fishery activities conducted by professional divers. They are collecting chanks, sea cucumbers, lobsters and marine ornamental fishes. Although divers are regularly engaged in these fisheries, many of them (80 percent) have not done any proper dive training. Information collected on this issue is presented in Table Table 4.49: Status of fishers who engage in diving related fishing activities (n=141) - Negombo Level of the training Percentage Undergone a proper training and engage in diving to catch fish 20.0 Not undergone a proper training but engage in diving to catch fish 80.0 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Navigational certificates According to the survey results, only of 15 percent fishers possess navigational certificates. It is a must that at least the boat skipper should possess a navigational certificate. In reality, although they do not have certificates, all fishers have the ability to navigate small fishing crafts through their hands-on sea-going experience. Information collected during the survey is given in Table Table 4.50: Ability of fishers to handle FRP boats successfully (n=41) - Negombo Ability to navigate a FRP boat successfully Percentage of fishers Poor 12.0 Good 53.0 Very good 35.0 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Training on safety at sea According to the survey results, none of the fishers at Negombo had undergone or received any safety at sea training. Although fishers are well experienced in navigation and fishing, they may panic in an emergency situation and may forget to attend to the most important things Fishing crafts constructed in an approved boatyard It is important that all fishing crafts are constructed at an approved boat yard. It was noted that soon after the Asian Tsunami in 2006, several new boat yards emerged to construct small fishing crafts. According to fishers, crafts constructed in some of these boat yards are of poor quality. Although several temporary boat yards appeared in tsunami affected areas (soon after the tsunami), the boats constructed in these boat yards were transferred to the other parts of 70

98 the country. According to the survey results, 108 (40 percent) of the boats were constructed in non-approved boat yards Fishing crafts having first aid kits According to survey results only 42 (16 percent) of the crafts was equipped with first aid kits. Taking a first aid kit to sea is always useful and sometimes of utmost importance to save the life of a fisher. In coastal fisheries taking a first aid kit is essential for all fishing crafts SSB radio facility In Negombo there are some fishing boats which fish for more than a day in coastal waters. These boats leave Negombo harbor but conduct long line fishing operations in the Hambantota banks and associated fishing grounds for several days. According to the survey results only 1 fishing craft had SSB radio facility. It is true that many of the fishers conduct fishing operations in nearby inshore areas, but some sort of effective communication system must be established Global Positioning System A global positioning system is important to know one s exact position at sea. This is highly important for multiday fishers. Day fishers using out-board motors that fish on the continental shelf often use hand held GPSs for navigation. According to the survey results, nearly 81 (30 percent) of the coastal fishers in Negombo use GPS. When talking to them, it was revealed that they primarily use GPS to locate submerged rocks rather than for navigation to and from shore. It is important to promote the use of GPS among FRP (OB) boat fishers who go out on the continental shelf Use of life jackets and compasses It is important to promote the use of life jackets by FRP boat fishers who fish along the continental shelf. Other small scale fishers such as traditional and traditional motorized boat users do not have storage space for life jackets on their fishing vessels as the vessels are too small. Introducing life jackets on very small boats may actually be an occupational hazard for coastal fishers. Life jacket promotions schemes for coastal fisheries should initially focus on FRP boat fishers. They have to take life jackets and should wear it as and when needed. According to the survey results, only 44 (1.6 percent) of the fishers use life jackets and only 21 fishers had compasses on their fishing crafts Use of life rings Having a life ring onboard a fishing craft is as equally important as having life jackets. It is particularly useful to throw to a fisher who has fallen overboard especially in rough seas. According to survey results only 21 (8 percent) of the fishing crafts have life rings onboard Seaworthiness certificate According to survey results, around 50 percent of the boats engaged in coastal fisheries were 06 to 10 years old. Another 10 percent were more than 10 years old. Most of the older boats develop defects frequently at sea and this may lead to serious safety problems. Hulls of the 71

99 boats have often been frequently repaired and sometimes may not be seaworthy. An annual seaworthy certificate should be promoted for vessels over 10 years of age, though this is currently not a government requirement Stability tests Small fishing boats constructed in approved boat yards usually follow all stability related requirements. A recent trend is that the fishers who use feet FRP day boats and conduct fishing operations 15 to 20 km away from the coast are taking insulated boxes/ ice boxes along with them to minimize post harvest losses. This may lead to stability problems in small boats in rough sea which may cause safety issues. Survey results showed that 132 coastal fishing crafts had undergone a stability test Accidents and deaths According to the survey results, focus group discussions and key informant discussions the number of accidents that have taken place in Negombo district during the period 2007 to 2009 are given in Table The number of both accidents and fatalities appears to be rising. Table 4.51: Accidents and deaths happened in coastal fisheries during the period Negombo Year Accidents % Deaths % Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 The majority of accidents have taken place when fishing crafts were leaving from or arriving at the beach/thotupola lagoon or any other landing sites. During the South west monsoon period, May to September, is a difficult period for fishers to navigate their small fishing crafts. In Negombo, no such dangerous thotupola or landing sites were named by the fishers Communication with other fishing vessels According to the survey results, around 55 percent of the fishers communicate with other fishing vessels through mobile phones when they are at sea. As a result they can inform each other if they are in difficulty. This communication system needs to be improved to better serve coastal fishers Taking extra water, food and fuel Around 44 percent fishers take extra water on their fishing trips. Similarly, around 30 percent fishers take extra food on their fishing trips. Many coastal fishers do not take extra fuel on their fishing trips as the crafts are small and space is limited. Most of them are very sure about their fishing area and therefore do not take extra fuel. 72

100 Table 4.52: Fishers attending to extra safety requirements during their fishing trips Negombo Description Percentage Fishers taking extra food (n = 104) 38.4 Fishers taking extra water (n = 119) 43.9 Fishers taking extra fuel (n = 0) 0.0 Fishers listening to radio at sea (n = 18) 6.3 Fishers communicating with others (n = 143) 54.6 Fishers reporting to radio stations when leaving (n = 29) 10.7 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Post-Harvest and Marketing General information on post harvest quality of fish at Negombo In the coastal fisheries of Negombo the bulk of the production comes from small pelagic fish and their contribution to the total fish production is around 50 percent. This group includes herrings, sardines, anchovies, scads, mullets, and Carangids etc. Additionally, some commercially important demersal crustaceans such as shrimp, crabs, and lobsters are also an important component of coastal fisheries in Negombo. According to the statistics available from the Ministry of Fisheries an Aquatic Resources, the production of shore seine varieties of Negombo in the year 2008 was 8,830 tons. The crustacean component consisted of 4,160 tons of shrimp; 130 tons of crabs and 70 tons of lobsters. Production of other coastal miscellaneous groups also contributed another 4,470 tons consisting of mullets, sear fish and Carangids. Tuna and tuna like fishes are also caught by some of the day boats fishing far away from the coast and their annual production is around 4,630 tons. When all these values are taken into consideration nearly percent of the fish production of Negombo consists of fishes coming from different types coastal or inshore fisheries. In Negombo, fishing gear diversity is extremely high. Total coastal fish production comes from fishing practices conducted in the Negombo lagoon, territorial waters and sea area extending up to 20 km from the coast line. Predominant fishing gear types include trawl nets, gill nets, long line, cast nets, stake seine nets, Kottu del (skate seine net), traps, crab pots, brush piles, hand lines etc. Out of all fishing practices, the highest production comes from gill net fishing carried out in the Negombo estuary and at sea. The annual total fish production of Negombo district is around 35,000 tons. According to survey results, the contribution of different fish species groups to the total fish production in Negombo district is given in Table Table 4.53: Contribution of different species groups to the coastal fish production of Negombo district (n = 271) - Negombo Fish group Percentage Large pelagic fishes 14.2 Small pelagic fishes 57.3 Shrimps 21.5 Rock fish types 7.0 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District,

101 4.4.2 Fishing gear and capture methods Fishing methods used for harvesting fish has a serious impact on the quality of fish landed. Fish caught by gill nets are usually in poor quality when compared to long line and purse seine caught fishes. According to the survey results given in Table 4.54, 72.9 percent of the total coastal fish production comes from gill nets. Contribution of different fishing gear types to the total fish production is given in Table Table 4.54: Contribution of different fishing gear to the coastal fish production in Negombo (n = 271) - Negombo Harvesting method-fishing gear Percentage contribution Gill net 72.9 Cast net 10.0 Long line 5.3 Trammel net 4.1 Kottu del 2.6 Hand line 1.8 Trawl net 0.9 Traps 0.9 Crab pots 0.6 Brush parks 0.6 Purse seine nets 0.3 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Fishing duration In the absence of good preservation methods, fishing duration has a serious impact on the quality of fish landed. In Negombo, most of the fishing trips are restricted to half day or less than one day. According to the survey results shown in Table 4.55, 41.7 percent of the coastal fishing activities in Negombo are restricted to less than 12 hour operations. As a result fishers try to sell fish fresh without any post harvest practice or investment. Table 4.55: Duration of fishing trips (n = 271) - Negombo Duration of fishing trips Percentage Less than half a day 41.7 More than half a day 43.5 Full day 9.6 More than one day 0.7 No response 4.4 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Attending to post harvest practices soon after harvesting Fishers were interviewed and focus group discussions were held with fish traders to determine their knowledge about the importance of following post harvest practices as soon as possible after harvesting. Many fishers (57 percent) were unaware that post harvest 74

102 quality loss starts soon after harvesting. The survey results of their knowledge level are given in Table Table 4.56: Knowledge level of fishers on the importance of following post harvest practices soon after harvesting (n = 271) - Negombo Knowledge on the importance of following Percentage post harvest practices soon after harvesting Well known 6.2 Known 36.4 Did not know 57.4 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Further, the fishers were interviewed to understand their knowledge on the importance of following on-board post harvest practices (after catching fish and until they reach coast) and their knowledge on this issue is given in Table Table 4.57: Knowledge level of fishers on following post harvest practices onboard (n = 271)-Negombo Knowledge on the importance of following Percentage post harvest practices onboard Well known 18.5 Known 54.0 Did not know 27.5 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Post harvest activities done on board Fish quality loss starts soon after harvesting. As a result, it is essential to apply appropriate quality fish handling practices as soon as possible after capture. The two main methods practiced by coastal fishers in Negombo to minimize post harvest losses are icing and drying. The survey results, (percentage values of these methods) are shown in Table Table 4.58: Post harvest activities carried out onboard of coastal fishing boats in Negombo soon after taking the catch onboard (n = 271) - Negombo Post harvest loss minimizing method Percentage Drying 1.5 Icing 3.0 Freezing 0.5 Salting 0.5 No response 94.5 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 No response indicates that they do not (94.5%) conduct any sort of post harvest activity onboard the fishing boat. This is mainly due to the short nature of their fishing trips. Even though their fishing trips are short certain post harvest practices have to be introduced depending on the nature of, a) Harvesting method; b) Product caught; c) Boat size; and d) Duration of the fishing trip 75

103 A survey also addressed the post harvest practices followed by FRP and one day mechanized boat fishers who generally conduct fishing operations at the edge of the continental shelf and who also spend longer at sea before returning to shore (one day) compared to other coastal fishers. According to Table 4.59, many of day boat fishers implemented on-board post harvest practices. Different methods were used and they are given in Table Use of clean water to wash fish and icing were the two most popular post harvest practices and were used by 39.9 and 31.1 percent of fishers respectively. Table 4.59: Percentage number of one day fishers who attend to post harvest supportive practices on board (n = 73) - Negombo On board post harvest supportive practice Percentage Icing 15.3 Icing in insulated boxes 15.8 Having ice holds on board 7.1 Packing fish properly in fish boxes 12.0 Use clean water to wash fish 39.9 Follow good sanitary practices 5.5 Having fixed fish holds in fishing crafts 4.4 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Icing and packing of fish onboard A sample of fishers were interviewed to get more information on the type of post harvest practice they follow when they pack fish in insulated or other ice boxes and in fish holds. The results are shown in Table % just applied ice directly onto their catch without any gutting of the fish. 21.4% gutted the fish before ice was applied. Table 4.60: Post harvest practices followed when packing fish in boxes and fish holds onboard (n = 29) - Negombo Practices followed when packing fish onboard Percentage Gutting and icing 21.4 De-heading and icing 13.2 Direct icing 65.4 (Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Involvement of women in post harvest practices It was revealed that women play a major role in the marketing of aquatic products in Negombo district. Of the families interviewed in Negombo 60 percent of women were involved in some sort of post harvest activity. They were interviewed to understand their knowledge on the importance of following good post harvest practices. The results obtained are given in Table 4.61 show that women were more knowledgeable than men on post harvest practices. 76

104 Table 4.61: Knowledge of women on post harvest practices (n = 59) - Negombo Knowledge of women on post harvest practices Percentage Well known 19.7 Know 63.4 Did not know 16.9 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Problems faced by fisher women Although 83.1 percent women knew of or knew well about the importance of following good post harvest practices, their post harvest activities are constrained for the reasons given in Table 4.62 below. Table 4.62: Problems faced by women in Negombo with regard to post harvest issues (n = 69) - Negombo Problems faced by women Percentage Insufficient storage facilities 40.6 Rain difficulties in drying 23.2 No good market 8.7 Difficulties in getting fish 8.7 Disturbances from animals 5.8 Lack of money to buy fish 4.3 Lack of salt 4.3 Lack of training 1.4 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 In Negombo, it was revealed that insufficient storage facility was the dominant factor for not attending to appropriate post harvest practice, although women were aware of the importance of following good post harvest practices to get high quality products. Their houses are small and mostly consist of one or two rooms. Houses are situated close to each other and there are no open areas for storing and drying fish at home. As insufficient storage facility was the main issue that fisher women were facing, a detailed survey was done on this issue and the results are given in Table percent had very little storage facility area. Table 4.63: Storage facilities available for women in Negombo (n = 71) - Negombo Level of the storage facility Percentage Storage facilities insufficient - but can manage 5.6 Storage facilities low 25.4 Storage facilities very low 69.0 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Post harvest products Women fisher-folk were interviewed on the types of post harvest products they were producing with the available facilities and the results are given in Table % were producing dried fish products. 77

105 Table 4.64: Types of post harvest products fisher women are producing at Negombo (n = 48) - Negombo Type of product Percentage Dried fish 93.8 Jadi (Fish preserved in Salt and Goraka (Garcenia quaesita) 2.1 Maldive fish (Umbalakada) 4.2 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Expectations of women According to women fisher-folk in Negombo they can develop good quality fish products in a better manner if the following issues were addressed (Table 4.65) percent wanted sufficient storage facilities. Table 4.65 Requirements of women in Negombo (n = 56) Requirement Percentage Provide sufficient storage facility 50.0% Develop a good market 17.9% Provide fish at low prices 8.9% Provide drying and packing material 7.1% Provide salt at low prices 5.4% Loans and grants 5.4% Provide trainings for improvement 3.6% Provide shelters to cover fish during drying 1.8% Marketing of Fish in Negombo Focus Group discussions were held in Negombo with traders involved in operating at landing sites, selling local consumers / hinterland intermediaries, local fixed markets, local household sales, assembling for Colombo wholesalers, and assembling for exporters/chain markets. Their supplier base includes operators of madel (beach seine) and mechanized boats/single day boats at the landing points. Supplies small fish, large fish, and crustaceans have increased by 25 percent, 50 percent and 25 percent respectively in the last two decades. Both buying and selling prices have increased by over 75 percent for small and large fish and by over 100 percent for crustaceans during the last two decades. Marketing functions performed by all trade intermediaries include sorting and grading to meet customer requirements for fresh fish, the hinterland traders additionally preserve on ice. The assemblers for the Colombo Wholesale Market are further involved in packaging, improved preservation and transportation as required by their buyers. In addition to the above the assemblers deliver to exporters/chain markets and maintain quality specifications to meet contractual agreements. All traders purchase only marketable quantities, but local traders report that at times they have a percent unsold surplus which they dry. 78

106 Financing of traders at local markets is done using their own funds supplemented with borrowing from friends/relations and the village lender for easy accessibility. Traders serving the upper end of the market have access to formal institutional credit. Constraints faced by trade intermediaries include inadequate supply on certain days, purchaser turnout falling short of expectations, increased supply within two hours resulting in price variations and inability to preserve freshness of fish over time Suggestions for improvement of marketing by traders include regulate arrival times of fishing vessels and landings, provision of training in market orientation and awareness and training in maintaining aquatic product quality and preservation techniques Marketing Channels for Coastal and Lagoon Fishers (Negombo) The survey identified the existing marketing channel for coastal and lagoon fishers and these are presented below. The marketing channels identified during focus group discussions with the fish-traders of Negombo are presented in Figure 4.1a. Landing Point Local Trader Local Assembler Fixed Market Trader Colombo Wholesale Market Super Chain Assembler Processors Exporter Hinterland Trader Regional Retailer Regional Chain Retailer Local Consumer Hinterland Consumer National Consumer External Consumer Figure 4.1a: Marketing Channels for Coastal and Lagoon Fishers (Negombo) Source: Focus Discussions with Traders in Negombo

107 4.5 Livelihoods Enhancement and Diversification The life of the people The life of men; daily routine charts The daily routine chart indicates (Figure 4.2) that fishers spend most of their time in active fishing, both during day and night. Apart from fishing a considerable amount of time was spent in preparing fishing equipment and attending to the needs of craft and gear (boat repair, net mending, etc.). The general sleeping hours of fishers fall between hours and hours with slight variations (This means that, most of the fishers sleep during this period, but may extend beyond hours or may commence before hours). Notice should also be made of fishers involvement in taking children to school and back and time spent on religious activities (especially for their daily prayers). Some fishers were also involved in selling fish, which takes place in the early hours of the morning hours hours hours Figure 4.2: Daily Routine Chart - Men (Negombo) Source: Focus Group Discussions with Fishers

108 The life of women; daily routine charts Women in Negombo are quite active in the field of fisheries, although the daily routine chart does not reveal much information on this, because there were no standard time allocations for such involvements. Many women wait at the beach to see their husbands off to go fishing and they are quite active on the beach when their husbands return with good landings. Some women said, that they return home from the beach around midnight. On the beach, coordination among men and women remains quite strong. Women typically do a greater diversity of activities in a typical day than men. These include reproductive (cooking, cleaning and looking after children), productive (fish processing and marketing) and social and cultural activities hours hours hours Figure 4.3: Daily Routine Chart of Women in Negombo Source: Focus Group Discussions with women fisher-folk Livelihood activities of women The major livelihood activity of women in Negombo was fish processing. The three main processed products produced by women were dried fish, Maldive fish (Value added fish product), and jadi (Garcenia quaesita). 81

109 Table 4.66: Issues related to fish processing (Matrix Ranking Exercise) (n = 271) Post harvest Activity Money & Credit Materials Knowledge Transport Market Dried Fish Jadi Maldives Fish Source: Focus Group Discussions, Negombo District, 2010 For fish drying the major issues were the lack of credit availability, and the unreliability of the availability of raw materials (see Table 4.66). Inputs were also another issue. This was due to the high price of fresh fish and the limited supply of fish for drying at acceptable prices. Transportation wass a problem, because the product has to be transported to Colombo. Although a number of buyers visit their homes to purchase processed products, the prices paid were low. While women were interested in preparing jadi they want to acquire new knowledge on the preparation of high quality jadi. Market access was a problem due to the fact that, processors were unaware of major consumption centres and the type of markets. Here too, the lack of credit facilities appears to be an issue. Moreover, many women said that the cost of jadi preparation was quite high, while the profit margins were low. For Maldive fish processing, one of the key issues was the lack of proper drying equipment. Inadequate credit facilities and a lack of new knowledge were also highlighted by women as the two other issues associated with this product Livelihood options and capacity of service providers Fish selling, carpentry and masonry work, agriculture, public transport, small businesses, ice manufacture, fiber glass technology, painting, laboring, etc. were the most common livelihood options available for fishers. Only about 30 percent of the fishers were either aware or well aware of other livelihood opportunities available in Negombo. They were either not interested in livelihood diversification options (because they were full time fishers) or were unaware (52.4 percent) of what livelihoods options were available to them as fishers. This in contrast to what the women reported, where all women respondents said that they were quite aware of livelihood options in the area. For the majority of women in fishing communities, garment industry, small businesses and boat repairing were the major livelihood options in the area. 82

110 Table 4.67: Awareness about livelihood options - Negombo Awareness about livelihood options 83 Percentage of fishers Reporting (n=224) Percentage of women Reporting (n=15) Well aware Aware Not aware No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 The government, fisheries societies (fisher community organizations), other community organizations, and non-governmental organizations appear to be providing diverse services in assisting fishers to diversify their livelihood activities. Almost all fishers thought that the capacity of all these organizations in providing livelihood services was low Sources of Livelihood Capitals Following the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (Allison & Ellis 2001), five types of livelihood capitals were identified; natural, financial, social, physical and human. Fishers were asked to identify different sources of such capitals and their responses are summarized in table Table 4.68: Sources of livelihood capitals for fishers and women- Negombo Percentage Percentage of Type of Livelihood Sources of fishers women Capital reporting reporting 1. Sea Natural Capital (n= men 271, women 60) Financial Capital (n= men 198, women 56) Social Capital (n= men 123 women 14) Physical Capital (n= men 196, women 15) Human Capital (n= men 92, women 16) Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Lagoon Fish Sun Banks Local Businessman Societies NGOs Societies Politicians Friends / Fishers NGOs Net Boat Fishing lines Land Past Experience Fishermen Local Businessman Education 3.0 -

111 The sea and the fish were identified as the sources of natural capital available to fishers and their families. In respect of financial capital, the banks (both government and private banks) were the most important sources, as reported by both fishers and women, while the local business community too formed another important source of financial capital. The diverse community organizations appear to play a negligible role in the provision of financial capital. With regard to social capital, community organizations, especially cooperative societies and other forms of associations were the most dominant sources of social capital. Fishing crafts and gear were considered by both fishers and women as the important forms of physical capital, but field information did not exactly reveal the sources of such capital. Only a few fishers and women responded to the question of human capital. Those who have responded identified past experience, fellow fishers, and educational institutions as the major sources of human capital. Both fishers and women respondents were then asked to identify the various livelihood diversification possibilities of the different sources of livelihood capitals. Their responses are summarized in Table Table 4.69: Livelihood diversification from available livelihood capitals Negombo (n= fishers 135, women 46) Type of livelihood capital Livelihood diversification possible Natural Capital Fishing Making dried fish For improvement of well being Agriculture Financial capital Possibility of obtaining loans to invest in diverse activities Acquisition of crafts and gear Application of new technology into fishing For various activities providing a good living Social capital Support to improve and diversify fisheries Assisting to fish in a technically sound manner Provision of crafts and gear Provision of training facilities Diverse social services required for many livelihood activities Physical capital Fishing For a good life To improve on technology To invest in the future Human capital For technological enhancement For better trained in activities Improve efficiency in fishing Facilitates to function as a good fisher Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 It is quite evident that, livelihood diversification suggested by both fishers and women point to fishing-related activities. These include acquisition of new technology, further improvements in technology, etc. Training was also an important suggestion made by both fishers and women. 84

112 4.5.5 Access to livelihood capitals Persons access to livelihood capitals determines whether they are able to cope with vulnerability and bounce back (resilience capacity). It was attempted by asking fishers about their access to livelihood capitals, where the responses of fishers were measured on a scale of good, moderate and weak. There appears to be good access to natural capital as reported by 57.9 percent of fishers, where as the corresponding figure for women was much higher (68.6 percent). Disaggregate data by technological category did not show much variation, except that lagoon fishers reported slightly higher access to natural capital than others. Table 4.70: Access of fishers and women to natural capital (n=fishers 271, women 51) - Negombo Percentage Access to Natural Percentage of fishers reporting of women Capital reporting NTRB/ NBSB MTRB/ OFRP Lagoon Good Moderate Weak Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 In respect of financial capital, approximately half of both fishers and women reported of weak access to financial capital (48.5 percent males and 52.3 females). Disaggregated data indicated that the lagoon fishers had much higher access to financial capital than other groups (67.6 percent lagoon fishers reporting they had moderate access to financial capital (table 4.71). Table 4.71: Access of fishers and women to financial capital (n=fishers 198, women 56) - Negombo Access to Percentage Percentage of fishers reporting Financial of women Capital reporting NTRB/ NBSB MTRB/ OFRP Lagoon Good Moderate Weak Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Nearly two thirds of the fishers reported that they had either high or moderate access to social capital (diverse social networks) (see Table 4.72). Yet, half of the women thought that the access to social capital was weak. Given that women are more active than men socially, the responses of women probably better reflect the actual situation. All All 85

113 Table 4.72: Access of fishers and women to social capital (n=fishers 143, women 12) - Negombo Percentage Access to Social Percentage of men reporting of women Capital reporting NTRB/ NBSB MTRB/ OFRP Lagoon Good Moderate Weak Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 More than two thirds of the fishers reported that they had either good or moderate access to physical capital; nearly half of the fishers reporting that they had good access to physical capital (Table 4.73). Surprisingly, 73.3 percent of the women thought that access to physical capital was weak. The results therefore reveal a high bias towards the availability of physical capital required by fishers, rather than physical capital required by women. Table 4.73: Access of fishers and women to physical capital Negombo (n=fishers 198, women 15) Percentage Access to Physical Percentage of fishers reporting of women Capital reporting NTRB/ NBSB MTRB/ OFRP Lagoon Good Moderate Weak Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 In respect of human capital, 80 percent of the fishers reported that they had good or moderate access to human capital, while a very high percentage of women (68 percent) saying that access to human capital was weak. This probably reflects that women have less access to schooling, training, capacity building and awareness programmes than men in the area, and therefore less human capital (Table 4.74). All All 86

114 Table 4.74: Access of fishers and women to human capital Negombo (n=fishers 92, women 15) Percentage Access to Human Percentage of fishers reporting of women Capital NTRB/ MTRB/ reporting Lagoon All NBSB OFRP Good Moderate Weak Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Supporting services available for livelihood enhancement There are a number of diverse supporting services available for livelihood enhancement in Negombo, as given in Table The major supporting service was the provision of financial capital. As revealed by 43 percent of the fishers and 54.8 percent of the women, financial services appear to be quite efficient and available in the area. Next in importance, (as reported by percent of the fishers and 20 percent of the women), was the availability of training facilities. Of course, training is a form of human capital which can facilitate the person receiving training to improve his//her productivity in the present vocation or to adopt a better vocation. Availability of government support in various spheres, provision of crafts and gear, and boat building and repair facilities were also noted, as supporting livelihoods enhancement. Although many other services were mentioned, their importance seems to be quite low, as only a few respondents mentioned most of them. Table 4.75: Availability of livelihood support services - Negombo Percentage of Livelihood Support fishers Service reporting (n=135) Percentage of women reporting (n=46) 1. Development of the existing port Soft loans and grants Trainings Making dried fish Measures to stop illegal fishing activities Government assistance Boats repair facilities Good market Provision of new nets and equipment Providing navigational sea charts Protection of the beach (bank) Self employment opportunities Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District,

115 Fishers also identified a few livelihood diversification possibilities with the available supporting services mentioned above, which included the following. Use of new technology and adopting better fishing practices (diversification within fisheries); Off season fishing; Fish processing; making of dried fish, Maldive fish and jadi ; Improving the quality of products; Diverse self employment activities (small businesses); Acquisition of crafts and gear at concessionary rates; Possibility to engage in deep sea fishing; Possibility to acquire fish finding devices; and Getting involved in fish marketing and transportation. It should also be noted that almost all livelihood diversification possibilities mentioned by both fishers and women were fishing- related, with the exception of self employment activities mentioned by women alone Factors affecting livelihoods Fishers identified a number of factors which positively influence their livelihoods. Among those mentioned, the most important were, i) good harvests, ii) fair prices in the market, iii) favourable seasons for fishing, iv) living close to sea, etc. However, for women, the sequence followed, i) loan facilities, ii) income stability and iii) training opportunities. It is interesting to note that the factors mentioned by women (who have more responsibilities in meeting family subsistence needs were more concerned with dealing with shocks and stabilizing intertemporal fluctuations in fishing incomes. When asked as to which factors had a negative influence on their livelihoods, seasonality was the major factor mentioned by most o f the fishers and women. The other factors mentioned by fishers included low catch, increasing cost of spare parts and fuel, low producer prices, natural disasters and ineffective community organisations. Apart from seasonality, women mentioned difficulties in storage of products, by which they meant the inadequacy of ice and other preservation facilities. Apart from the issue of storage, they also mentioned bad weather, low cash income, poor fisheries resources, bad market conditions and environmental pollution, as those factors negatively affecting their livelihoods. During focus group discussions, women also mentioned that fishers often used destructive gear, especially small meshed gill nets, where the net sizes were below 1 inch. The government has been unable to effectively enforce mesh size regulations Satisfaction about livelihoods The majority of fishers (54.6 percent) were satisfied with their present livelihood opportunities, while 17.3 percent of them were not (Table 4.76). Women appeared to be happier than men about the present status of available livelihood activities, where 70.4 percent of the women reported that they were satisfied with their existing livelihoods activities. 88

116 Table.4.76: Satisfaction with existing livelihood activities - Negombo Satisfaction with existing livelihood activities Percentage of fishers reporting (n=195) Percentage of women reporting (n=60) Yes No No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Changes required in livelihood activities The fishers and women in Negombo mentioned a number of changes that were required for fishing related livelihood activities. These included provision of credit facilities, better market opportunities and fair prices, provision of fishing equipment at concessionary rates, training opportunities and provision of safety equipment. Although these were not exactly changes that are required in livelihood activities, they would definitely facilitate shifting or adopting better fishing related livelihood opportunities. For women, the most important change required was the provision of opportunities to engage in small businesses (diverse self employment opportunities), followed by facilities provided for fish processing Importance of livelihood diversification It appears that fishers would prefer to continue to fish, but to fish more effectively rather than diversify their livelihoods. Only 23.6 percent of the fishers thought that livelihood diversification was important and nearly half of them thought it was un-important. This may be an indication that fishers were happy with their profession and that many of them do not want to change over to or to take up other livelihood activities (Table 4.77). The fairly high percentage of fishers not responding to this question (27.3 percent) shows their indecision concerning this issue, which may be attributed to their lack of knowledge about livelihood diversification or their concern about the risk involved in diversifying. On the contrary, two thirds of women said that livelihood diversification was important. The no response group for women was much lower than that of men (9.9 percent). Table 4.77: Importance of livelihood diversification- Negombo Percentage of Percentage of Whether livelihood diversification fishers women reporting is important? reporting (n=197) (n=64) Yes No No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 A number of advantages of livelihood diversification were noted by fishers, as shown in Table In general, for both men and women, livelihood diversification was important for, earning supplementary incomes, income stability and for a good life. Women also 89

117 mentioned the positive contribution of livelihood diversification to provide better education for children. Table 4.78: Advantages of livelihood diversification - Negombo Advantages of livelihood diversification Percentage of fishers reporting (n=271) Percentage of women reporting (n=57) 1. Possibility of increasing fish harvest Shift into a better craft Increased family income Extra income (supplementary) To have a good life Income stability Reduce wastage Take up other employment Good training Better education for children Facilitate reduced domestic work load Facilitate producing quality products Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Support services available for livelihood diversification The majority of the fishers (57.2 percent) were unsatisfied with the supporting services available for livelihood diversification, which could be one reason why fishers saw livelihood diversifications as being un-important (Table 4.79 above). However, about 18 percent of the fishers reported that they were satisfied with the supporting services available at present. In contrast, half of the women said that they were satisfied with the supporting services, while the rest were not. Table 4.79: Perception about supporting services available for livelihood diversification- Negombo Perception about available supporting services 90 Percentage of fishers reporting (n=206) Percentage of women reporting (70) Very satisfied Satisfied Not satisfied No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Factors important for a good life This question was an attempt to identify what factors fishers and their household members value as indicators of their well being aspirations. The fishers were asked to mention the

118 things that would make their lives happy, and they were also asked to rank them in order of importance. The factors mentioned by the fishers and the ranks given (low rank number indicates high priority) were as follows. Factors responsible for a happy life Average Rank Fishers Women Women Having good children Cash income Peace in the family Good relations with community members Education Safety This exercise shows the importance of education for children; bring them up in an environment conducive for maintaining discipline and making them good citizens. Even though it is not the first priority, cash income also appears to make people happy. Social harmony also appears to be a factor that makes them feel that the life was good. Women, who are more socially active in the community, gave the highest priority for good community relations followed by, peace in the family, cash income, good children, education and safety. It is also interesting to note what fishers thought about their present life. The responses of fishers were noted on a 5 point scale ranging from extremely satisfied to extremely dissatisfied. Information furnished in Table 4.80, reveals that a large majority of the fishers (61.5 percent) are either very satisfied or slightly satisfied with their life at present. The corresponding figure for women was 58 percent. Generally, people often complain about the quality of their lives but the results presented in Table 4.80 suggest that perhaps the situation and the quality of life of the persons in Negombo district is not so bad after all. 4.80: Extent of satisfaction of life at present (n=fishers 256, women 71) - Negombo Satisfaction of life at present Percentage of fishers reporting Percentage of women NTRB MTRB Lagoon All reporting NBSB OFRP Extremely satisfied Slightly satisfied Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied Slightly dissatisfied Extremely dissatisfied Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010 Disaggregated data by technological category reveal that very few lagoon fishers (5 percent) fell in the extremely satisfied group, where as nearly a quarter of fishers operating nonmotorized crafts and a third of those operating small motorized crafts fell in this group. This situation could be attributed to the fact that, the former group has recently confronted with 91

119 serious threats from other non-fisheries stakeholders like tourism, where large parts of the lagoon are being used by sea planes. 4.6 Micro-Finance General Overview This section deals with micro-finance practices of 271 fishers and 71 women interviewed through the survey questionnaire in the Negombo Fisheries district and covers salient aspects related to micro-finance practices of fishers and women. The survey questionnaire together with the focus group discussions and key informant interviews provided adequate information and a realistic base for a qualitative assessment of borrowing from micro-finance institutions and has been supplemented by further information collected during key informant discussions. Salient factors emanating from the survey reveal: Family indebtedness is relatively high because fishing as a livelihoods activity is seasonal and there are inadequate savings to meet household needs during low fishing periods; The majority of borrowing is taken from institutional sources, though a significant number of fishers take loans from friends/relations and the village money lender; Current rates of interest on both borrowing and savings appear to be reasonable; and, Communities are adequately aware of micro-finance and insurance services available to them Status by indicator The baseline status indicators are presented as tables and assessed in the following paragraphs Indebtedness of the Family The survey highlights significant family indebtedness as reported by 71.6 percent of fishers and 57.6 percent of women. Table 4.81: Indebtedness of the family - Negombo (n = fishers 263, women 71) Indebtedness Percentage Reporting Fishers Women Yes No No Response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District,

120 Sources of Borrowing Fishers report taking loans from friends/relations (25.6 percent), the Cooperative Rural Bank (19.2 percent) and village money lender(s) (16.7 percent). W61.0 percent of women reported taking credit from the Fishery Co-operative societies followed by the Wayamba Development Bank (26.8 percent) which they reported provided accessible credit. Table 4.82: Source of Borrowing - Negombo (n = fishers 78, women 41) Institution Percentage Reporting Fishers Women Friends and relations Through rotational savings group Village lender CBO 2.4 NGO Fishery Cooperative Society Cooperative Rural Bank Commercial BoC Banks PB Gov. Banks HNB Seylan Wayamba Development Bank Donor Funded Project Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Reasons for Borrowing The main reasons for borrowing shown in Table 4.83 were for livelihood/enterprise activities (51.3 percent) among fishers and (80.5 percent) by women, followed by construction/repair of houses (21.8 percent) by fishers and to meet family household needs (19.2 percent) and (9.8 percent) by women. 93

121 Table 4.83: Reasons for borrowing - Negombo (n = fisher 78, women 41) Reason Percentage Reporting Fishers Women Meet household needs Repayment of loan Education of children Construction/repair house Purchase vehicle/equipment Livelihood/enterprise Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Borrowing Range Over 68 percent of loans taken by fishers are over Rs. 25,000 of which 29 percent are over Rs. 100,000. Over 68 percent of loans taken by women were over Rs. 25,000 and 12.2 percent were of loans taken by women were over Rs. 100,000. Table 4.84: Borrowing Range - Negombo (n = fishers78, women 41) Borrowing Range Percentage Reporting Fishers Women Less than Rs. 5, Rs. 5,001-10, Rs. 10,001-25, Rs. 25,001-50, Rs. 50, , Over Rs. 100, No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Current Status of Borrowing The total amount borrowed by fishers was Rs. 13,937,000 of which 24 percent was outstanding, with the average amount outstanding being Rs. 48,564. The corresponding total amount borrowed by women was Rs. 1,357,000 of which 33 percent is outstanding, with the average amount outstanding being Rs

122 Table 4.85: Current Status of Borrowing - Negombo (n = fishers 78, women 41) Details Percentage Reporting Fishers Women Total Amount Borrowed 13,937,000 3,103,000 Average amount borrowed 183,382 75,683 Total of Balance Outstanding 3,399,500 1,010,500 Average amount outstanding 48,564 24,646 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Current Rates of Interest The current rates of interest range between 5.0 and 18.0 percent per annum and appear to be reasonable. Table 4.86: Prevailing Rates of Interest (Per annum) - Negombo (n = fishers 78, women 41) Percentage Reporting Institution Fishers Women Friends and relations Through rotational savings group Village lender CBO 8.0 NGO 12.0 Fishery Cooperative Society Cooperative Rural Bank Commercial BoC Banks PB - Gov. Banks HNB - Seylan Wayamba Development Bank Donor Funded Project - Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Security offered on Borrowing The bulk of the fisher loans obtained were against property/jewelry provided as collateral (80.0 percent). Most women (90.2 percent) took loans against personal guarantees provided by group/members. 3.3 percent of men and 2.4 percent of women respectively had been able to obtain loans without collateral. 95

123 Table 4.87: Security offered on Borrowing - Negombo (n = fishers 30, women 41) Type of Security Percentage Reporting Fishers Women No Security Mortgage of Property Mortgage of Jewelry Member/outsider guarantee Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Reasons for Default on Repayment of Loans The major reasons for the inability to repay loan installments were attributed to loss of a livelihood (mainly because of seasonality) and having no regular income source percent of women report not having to default. Table 4.88: Reason for Default in Repayment of Installments - Negombo (n = fishers 10, women 41) Reason Percentage Reporting Fishers Women No regular income Loss of livelihood Household need No default 73.2 Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Issues and Problems encountered For fishers the major micro-finance service issues were identified as high interest (87.5 percent) on loans and loan untimelyness (12.5 percent). Most women (97.6 percent) women reported no issues or problems with credit, while 2.4 percent reported that high interest was an issue.. Table 4.89: Issues/Problems encountered - Negombo (n = fishers 8,women 41) Issue/Problem Percentage Reporting Fishers Women Security not available Undue delay by lender Loan not available in time High interest Disinterest by lender No issue/problem 97.6 Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District,

124 Access to Credit Both fishers (22.1 percent) and women (32.4 percent) responded that their access to credit was moderate. However more women (47.2 percent) than men (5.2 percent) reported weak accessibility. Table 4.90: Access to credit for fishery and other livelihood activities - Negombo (n = fishers 74, women 41) Access Percentage Men Women Strong Moderate Weak No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey Negombo District, Assessment of Indebtedness Both fisher (15.5 percent) and women (43.7 percent) reported that indebtedness was moderate. 5.2 percent and 7.0 percent of fishers and women respectively reported high indebtedness. A large proportion of men (73.1 percent) in particular, did not respond. Table 4.91: How do you assess your own indebtedness status - Negombo (n= fishers 73, women 71) Status Percentage Men Women High Moderate Low No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Awareness of availability of Credit Services All surveyed women (100 percent) were fully aware of available credit institutions, while 76.0 percent of men were unaware. Table 4.92 provides detailed information on the awareness levels of available credit institutions, types of lending service available from each micro-finance institution, and the terms and conditions of available loan types from microfinance institutions. Most men either didn t know or didn t respond to the questions on the types of available loans, and the terms and conditions of loans. 97

125 Table 4.92: Awareness of availability of Credit services - Negombo (n = fishers 66, women 66 ) Services Assessment of Credit Services 13.3 percent of fishers and 53.5 percent of women had had moderate perceptions of the services provided by credit institutions percent of fishers and 54.9 percent of women expressed moderate satisfaction, with available credit services percent of women reported high levels of satisfaction with available credit services. Table 4.93: Assessment of Credit services - Negombo (n = fishers 54, women 62) Level/Degree Percentage Men Women Perception of High Services Moderate Low No-response Total Satisfaction High Moderate Low No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Participation in Micro-finance Services Both fishers (15.1 percent) and women (32.4 percent) replied that they had low levels of participation in micro-finance services schemes, while only 19.6 percent fishers and 4.2 percent of women and 32.4 percent women replied that they had high levels of participation 98 Percentage Men Women Institutions Fully aware Available Moderately aware - - Not aware Total Types of Fully aware Loans Moderately aware Not aware No-response Total Terms and Fully aware Conditions Moderately aware Not aware No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, 2010

126 in micro-finance service schemes. This high level of fishers reporting a high level of participation in micro-finance schemes is however at odds with over 75% of them being unaware of loan types and loan terms and conditions. Table 4.94: Participation in Micro-finance Services - Negombo (n = fishers 94, women 49) Level of Participation Percentage Fisher Women High Moderate Low No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Savings Mobilization A total of 48.3 percent of fishers and 49.3 percent of women responded that they had saved in home money boxes (a clay container in which coins are saved) and/or in cheetu (rotational group savings on a periodic basis); the latter being the most practiced method of saving with both fishers (32.8 percent) and women (41.8 percent) having practiced this type of institutional savings. Table 4.95: Savings Mobilization - Negombo (n = fishers 58,women 67) Nature of Savings/Institutions Percentage Men Women Home tills In rotational savings group NGO Fishery Cooperative Society Cooperative Rural Bank Commercial BoC HNB 1.5 Wayamba Development Bank Other SEDEC Samurdhi 4.5 Sanasa Bank - Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Reasons for Saving Savings for children s education ranked as the main purpose for fishers, 32.7 percent of fishers, and 20.4 percent of women (see Table 4.96). Other main reasons for savings in the order of importance were to improve/commence livelihoods and purchase of household goods, construction/repair of house, and special purposes/pilgrimage/wedding. 7.3 percent of savings in home money boxes were deposited into bank accounts. 99

127 Table 4.96: Reasons for Saving - Negombo (n = fishers 52, women72) Nature of Savings Percentage Fishers Women Home money boxes to meet domestic needs Home money boxes to deposit in the bank Special purposes /Pilgrimages/weddings Children's education Purchase household goods Construction/repair house Improve/Commence livelihoods Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Period of Saving While 55.6 percent of women and 18.2 percent of fishers have maintained savings for less than a year, 40.9 percent fishers and 14.8 percent women have maintained accounts for over 5 years. Table 4.97: Period of saving - Negombo (n = fishers 44, women 54) Period Percentage Men Women Less than 1 year years years Over 5 years Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Annual Savings The annual savings of fishers (41.3 percent) and women (54.9 percent) are less than Rs. 5,000. Annual savings of fishers in the other three categories 15.2, 21.7 and 21.7 percent respectively were all higher than those of women (13.7, 13.7 and 17.6 percent). Table 4.98: Annual Savings - Negombo (n = fishers 46, women 51) Amount Saved (Rs) Percentage Reporting Fishers Women Less than 5, ,000-10, ,000-25, Over 25, Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District,

128 Total Savings to Date The bulk of current savings were held in rotational savings groups or cheetu. Table 4.99: Total Savings to date - Negombo(n = fishers 46, women 41) Type/Institution Amount (Rs) % Fishers Women Total Home money boxes 33,300 24,000 57, In rotational savings groups 784, ,800 1,075, CBO 1,500 1, NGO 40,000 40, Fishery Cooperative Society 6,000 12,310 18, Cooperative Rural Bank 230, , Commercial BOC 205, , Govt. Banks 124, , , Wayamba Development Bank 11, , , Samurdhi Bank 12,100 12, Total 1,188, ,510 2,060, Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Annual Interest on Savings Annual interest rates received from formal financing institutions ranged between percent and were consistent with operational market rates. Table 4.100: Annual Interest rates on Savings - Negombo Type/Institution Percentage Men Women Fishery Cooperative Society Cooperative Rural Bank 9.0 Commercial BOC Wayamba Development Bank Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Participation in Insurance Schemes Only 5.5 percent of fishers and 29.6 percent of women participate in insurance schemes. Table 4.101: Participation in Insurance Schemes - Negombo (n = fishers 193, women 70) Status Percentage Men Women Yes No No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District,

129 Type of Insurance Policies All reporting respondents (20 fishers and 24 women) were holders of life policies. Ceylinco ranks as the most popular insurance provider, the others were the Sri Lanka National Insurance, the Union Assurance, and the Ministry of Fisheries, in descending order of importance. Table 4.102: Type/Insurer of Policy - Negombo (n = fishers 20, women 24) Policy/institution Percentage Fishers Women Life Insurance Ceylinco Insurance National Insurance Co Union Assurance Samurdhi 4.2 Eagle 8.3 NDB 8.3 SL Insurance 8.3 HNB Assurance Govijana Rakshana 5.0 Eagle Insurance 5.0 Ministry of Fisheries Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District, Reason for Non-participation in Insurance Schemes Out of the reporting respondents, 42.8 percent of fishers and 67.8 percent of women responded that they do not have enough money to participate in insurance schemes. At the same time, 34.3 percent of fishers indicated that insurance was not compulsary. Other reasons included no need for such schemes, no confidence in the scheme and they (fishers and women) had insufficient knowledge about the scheme. Table 4.103: Reason for Non-participation in Insurance Schemes - Negombo (n = fishers 166, women 59) Reason Percentage Reporting Fishers Women There is no money to participate No need for such a scheme No confidence in the scheme This scheme is not in this area 3.4 Insufficient knowledge about the scheme There is no considerable return 1.2 Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Negombo District,

130 Reasons for Willingness to Participate in Insurance Schemes Of the 14 fishers reporting respondents (no women respondents) 57.2 percent stated that it helps in an emergency situation percent reported of being unsure about the benefits for their life and the job, while the same amount thought insurance was good for the future. Table 4.104: Reason for Willingness to Participate in Insurance Schemes - Negombo (n = fishers 14, women 0) Reason Percentage Fishers Women Which helps at a emergency situation 57.2 Not sure about the life and the job 24.4 Because of the Family members Since it s a good It will support at the older ages Which is good for the future 24.4 Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Summary and Conclusions Socio-economic Characteristics of the Fishing Population The gender distribution of sample population of Negombo district was roughly 51 percent males and 49 percent female, which is slightly different to the gender structure of the national population (49.6 males and 50.4 females). The literacy rate of the sample population of Negombo district at 82 percent was significantly less than the national rate of 96 percent. Against socio- economic indicators, Negombo fisheries are the more affluent than the other two districts. However, its percentage of sample population receiving Samurdhi assistance is higher than the national rate. The average household size of the sample population in the Negombo district was comparatively small with 72.8 percent households having 3 5 members. The educational level of the sample population of Negombo was low with 73.6 percent of sample population having been educated to less than GCE O/L standard. More than 80 percent of fisher households of Negombo district live in rented or leased houses. Their quality of housing however was comparatively high with about 86 percent of households living in permanent houses. Moreover about 75 percent of houses were larger than 100 sq. ft. Availability of household appliances in Negombo district houses was generally higher than that of the national average. The percentage of fishers having access to piped water was relatively high (76.6% of the total sample) compared to national coverage of 54 percent. For sanitation facilities, almost 93 percent of the sample population has access to water seal and flush toilets, with no household reporting being without toilet facilities. 103

131 Fisher households of Negombo district had comparatively small land holdings with about 60 percent owing less than 10 perches of land, which may be because Negombo is a densely populated area. Most fisher household members (over 90 percent) in Negombo district were regular paid employees, casual paid employees or self employed. The average monthly income of more than 65 percent of fisher households of the Negombo districts was more than Rs Those who drank and/or smoked reported spending about 25 percent of the household monthly income on alcohol or tobacco. Another important finding of the survey was that no household reported facing food shortage during the 12 months prior to the survey and if they faced short term problems they were able to manage through temporary measures like taking loans Co-Managememt Both fishers and fisher women appear to have poorly understanding of the concept of comanagement. Although they knew that both state and non-state (community) actors were involved in managing fisheries resources, they could not relate this to co-management, because of lack of awareness and understanding of the concept. The f ive main organizations involved in fisheries co-management in Negombo are the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Fisheries and Lagoon Management Authority, Rural Fisheries Organization, Kattudel Association and the Beach Seine Association. Although, in general, fisheries cooperatives are not considered as comanagement bodies, the presence of the FI at monthly meetings and functions performed by him in making people aware of the consequences of the destructive (environmentally unfriendly) fishing gear and in resolving conflicts among fishers, show that fisheries cooperatives were also involved in co-management to a certain extent. This was also true with beach seine associations, where the nets have to be registered with the Department of Fisheries. However, all these are proof of the existence of co-management to varying degrees. In the case of conflict resolution, the officials of the Department of Fisheries collaborate with fisher community organizations, the police, the navy, the air force, NGOs (such as the National Fisheries Solidarity) and the church. On these grounds, fisheries cooperative societies, rural fisheries organizations, beach seine associations and lagoon management authority can all be considered as organizations of fisheries co-management. The officers of the Department of Fisheries thought that their involvement in co-management in cooperative societies (fisheries cooperatives and rural fisheries organizations) was about 50 percent. It is to be emphasized that, co-management was only implicit in various activities, but not explicitly stated or implemented. Fishers believe that both the state and the community should jointly manage the resources, indicating the importance of forming public-private partnerships in management and of the need for co-management. Surprisingly, more than half of the lagoon fishers proposed only state management of resources, indicating that these people are gaining confidence in the involvement of the government in resource management or that they have lost confidence in local community organizations to manage aquatic resources. The Negombo lagoon is used by multi-stakeholders who generate externalities on other part ies and it appears that the state is best placed to manage the resources by resolving problems among the diverse resource use r and their conflicts. Women also think that fisheries management should be a combined 104

132 responsibility of the state and the community. Yet, at present, the government involvement in fisheries management appears to be lower than people s expectations. Although both fishers and women accept that resources management is important, fishers participation in meetings was unsatisfactory while that of women remains extremely high. Among the diverse technological categories, a high number of lagoon fishers do not participate in meetings, which probably shows their lack of faith in the management authority. Among the technological categories, more traditional fishers (those using nonmotorized crafts) and the beach seine fishers, participate in planning and decision making, than other categories (those engaged in mech anized fishing). The only activity with lagoon fisher participation was conflict resolution. A large percentage of lagoon fishers have no involvement in any management activities. In contrast to fishers, women were actively involved in planning, decision making, and conflict resolution. Women appear to be significantly more active in management processes and activities than fishers. Although fishers believe that their actions have had only a moderate influence on the management process, the women reported a higher level of influence (strong to moderate) of their actions on management, again showing their active participation in the management process. Women were more assured about the impacts of management on the well being of their households than men. Strengthening and providing assistance to cooperatives, assistance from the state and nonstate actors, provision of credit and subsidies to fisheries, conducting awareness and training programmes, provision of crafts, gear and other equipment at concessionary rates, maintenance of harmony among diverse stakeholders and organizing regular dialogue among stakeholders, were recommended as the best measures required to improve current stake holder involvement in fisheries management. Some of the suggestions made by women were aimed at improving their access to alternative livelihood opportunities. The majority of the fishers thought that management changes have been moderately beneficial to the status of resources. It was also to be noted that the impacts of management changes on resources take a long time and were also difficult to observe unless correct assessments were made. Fishers thought that input control was the most important form of management change, followed by output control, organizational changes and women s participation, while from the point of view of the women, their participation appears to be quite important in management. In general, the majority of the fishers thought that the status of the resources was satisfactory, i.e. to date fishers do not feel that fisheries resources in Negombo district are badly degraded. A number of institutions are involved in conflict resolution to varying degrees. Major institutions involved in conflict resolution are, the Department of Fisheries, Fisheries Cooperatives and the Rural Fisheries Organization. To a lesser extent, other community organizations like religious institutions and local informal groups are also involved in conflict resolution. Yet, no institution appears to possess a high capacity for resolving conflicts. The relatively important role played by the community organizations in resolving conflicts was also noted. Apart from the above noted major institutions, people (more women than men ) think that the Department of Fisheries in coordination with the fisheries cooperative societies was one of the important means of resolving conflicts. 105

133 Middle-traders, and fish sellers appear to be the stakeholder groups reaping the highest benefits from fisheries, followed by crew members, fishers, exporters, processors and consumers. The whole exercise revealed that, consumers were very benefitting very little from fisheries, probably due to high fish prices. What was interesting was the status of fishers, who were categorized as even below crew members as beneficiaries from fisheries. The fisher category here also includes sea going craft owners, and especially those operating small traditional crafts and boats, while boat owners included those non- sea-going craft owners, and especially those owning large mechanized crafts Safety at Sea Sixty five percent of the coastal fish production in Negombo district was harvested by feet long FRP boats operated within the continental shelf, i.e. small-scale inshore fishing vessels. Almost all inshore fishing boats are day boats. Their fishing duration is less than one day and most fish for only a few hours. Around 90 percent of the fishers can swim well and 10 percent dive too. 80 percent of coastal fishers were unable to make minor boat engine repairs. Many fishers use the same fishing gear and work the same fishing ground all the time and are very much familiar with that area. As a result many fishers do not consider fishing to be a dangerous occupation. Although almost all fishers can navigate fishing crafts, 85 percent have no navigation license. Fishers in Negombo are expanding their area of operation year by year by using increasing more powerful out board engines. Inshore fishers from Negombo district assign low priority to safety at sea. Steps have to be taken to improve various safety at sea aspects among inshore fishers Post Harvest Fisheries 70 percent of the inshore fish catch of Negombo district comes from inshore seining activities. A considerable percentage of this comes from brackish water fisheries conducted in the Negombo lagoon. This catch is fresh and mostly sold by fishers to consumers or collectors at landing sites without attending to any post harvest practice. High valued species like shrimp are kept in ice boxes until it reaches dealers. In Negombo the bulk of the coastal marine catch comes from gill nets (73 percent), beach seines, trammel nets, long lining, trawling and Kottu del (skate seine net) operated in near shore waters. A portion of the catch is sold fresh to fish traders and they ice the catch at landing sites. 106

134 The remainder of the catch is handled by dealers who also use ice at their purchasing centers. Around 90 percent of coastal marine fishers do not conduct any post harvest handling practices on board their fishing vessel from capture until landing the fish. Direct icing is the main post harvest practice conducted by fishers. Low quality and less expensive varieties of aquatic species are dried if supply exceeds demand and product cannot be sold the same day. Although 64 percent of the women are aware about the importance of attending to post harvest practices, insufficient storage facility at their homes is the main constraint (40 percent) women at Negombo facing to doing so Livelihoods The major livelihood activity in Negombo of fishers and women is fishing and processing respectively. There are 3 major processed fish products; dry fish, Mmaldive fish, and jadi (Fish preserved in Salt and Goraka (Garcenia quaesita). The major constraints for processing are the lack of credit facilities and raw materials due to the high price of fish. Fish selling, carpentry and masonry work, agriculture, public transport, small business, ice manufacture, fiber glass technology, painting, laboring, etc. are the common livelihood options available for fishers in Negombo district. However, only a few fishers were aware of the livelihood opportunities available in Negombo. Fishing, fish processing, garment industry, small businesses and boat repair were the major livelihood options in the area for women and they were quite aware of such options. The government, fisheries societies (fisher community organizations), other community organizations, and non-governmental organizations appear to be providing diverse services in assisting fishers to adopt diversified livelihood opportunities, however, their capacity to provide such services was reported to be low by respondents. Almost all men and women think that the capacity of these organizations to provide livelihoods support services was low. Livelihood diversification suggestions from both fishers and women were generally related to improving fishing activities. These include acquisition of new technology, further improvements in technology, etc. Training was also an important suggestion made by both fishers and women. People s access to livelihood capitals determines whether they are able to cope with vulnerability and bounce back from shocks and adverse trends (resilience capacity). There appears to be good access to natural capital. However, persons' access to financial capital was reported as weak. Lagoon fishers have much higher access to financial capital than other groups. Respondent s access to social capital was also reported as weak to moderate. In respect of access to physical capital, fishers reported either good or moderate access, while the women reported weak access. The results therefore reveal a high bias towards the availability of physical capital required by fishers, rather than the physical capital required by women. Fishers appears to enjoy good or moderate access to human capital, while perhaps surprising for women, access appears to be weak. This would indicate less human capital resources are available for women in the area. 107

135 There were a number of diverse supporting services available for livelihood enhancement in Negombo district. The major supporting service was the provision of financial capital, followed by availability of training facilities, availability of government assistance in various spheres, provision of crafts and gear, and boat building and repair facilities were also noted. The major supporting services available for livelihood diversification were new technology and adopting better fishing practices (diversification within fisheries), the possibility of offseason fishing, fish processing, high quality products, taking up diverse self employment opportunities, deep sea fishing, acquisition of fish finding devises, taking up marketing and transportation functions in fisheries. This suggests that fishers want to continue fishing and fish more efficiently rather than to diversify their livelihoods. Among the most important factors positively affecting the livelihoods of fishers were good harvests, fair prices, favourable seasons for fishing, living close to sea, etc. However, women emphasized more on loan facilities, income stability and training opportunities. It was interesting to note that the factors mentioned by women (who have more responsibilities in meeting family subsistence needs) were more concerned with dealing with shocks and stabilizing inter-temporal fluctuations in fishing incomes. Among the factors having a negative influence on their livelihoods, seasonality in fisheries appears to be the major factor, followed by, low catches, increasing cost of spare parts and fuel, low producer prices, natural disasters and ineffective community organisations. Difficulties in storage of products was an important factor mentioned by women, which may mean inadequacy of ice and other preservation facilities, for example for the storage of processed products. Apart from the issue of storage, women reported that bad weather, low cash income, poor fisheries resources, bad market conditions and pollution also negatively influence their livelihoods. Both fishers and women were happy about the present status of available livelihood activities. However, in order to improve livelihoods, both fishers and women suggested several changes required to promote livelihood activities, which included the provision of credit facilities, better market opportunities and fair prices, provision of fishing equipment at concessionary rates, training opportunities and provision of safety equipment. For women, the most important change required was the provision of opportunities to engage in small businesses (diverse self employment opportunities), followed by the provision of facilities for fish processing. Fishers were not much interested in livelihood diversification, while the opposite was true for women. This may be an indication that fishers are happy with their profession and that many of them do not want to change over to or to take up other livelihood activities. On the contrary, women were looking towards livelihood diversification, which they think of as an important change, adding positively towards a good life; earning supplementary incomes, assuring income stability and to providing better education for their children. Yet, fishers were not satisfied with supporting services available for livelihood diversification, and this may be one reason why fishers do not believe much in livelihood diversification. Women however, were more satisfied with the availability of supporting services. For the things that make people feel that they enjoy a good life, men ranked, good children, cash income and peace in the family as the most important factors, while the priority ranking for women was, good community relations, peace in the family, cash income, good children, education and safety. In respect of fisher community perception about their 108

136 life at present, this study does not paint a fairly good situation for the quality of life of people in Negombo district. The life of lagoon fishers in particular appears to be more problematic than other fishers engaged in coastal fisheries Micro-Finance Conclusions herein presented are based on information gathered in modules 10 and 11 of the household survey and through focus group discussions and key informant discussions percent fishers and 32.4 percent of women reported low use of micro-finance services, 32.4 percent women responding moderate participation, while 19.6 percent fishers and 4.2 percent women reported they were high users of micro-finance providers. 100 percent of women were aware of the availability of credit services, while 76 percent of fishers were unaware. The majority of women were aware of the types of loans available and the terms and conditions of loans, while the opposite was true of fishers percent fishers and 53.3 percent women had a moderate perception on the quality of services provided by credit institutions percent of fishers and 54.9 percent of women expressed moderate satisfaction with the availability of credit services. Rotational savings and saving in home money boxes was the two most common savings forms for both fishers and women percent of fishers and 14.8 percent women had been saving for over 5 years. However 55.6 percent of women and 18.2 percent of fishers had been saving for less than a year. Fishers and women both ranked children s education as the main reason for saving. Other reasons in priority order included improved/to commence new livelihoods, to meet domestic needs, purchase household goods, construction/repair of house, and special purposes/pilgrimage/wedding. 7.3 percent saved in home money boxes for later deposit into bank accounts. Survey results showed that the main source of borrowing reported by the fishers was from friends and relatives (25.6 percent) followed by Commercial Banks (24.4 percent), Cooperative Rural Bank (19.2 percent), Fishery Cooperative Society (9.0 percent) and Wayamba Development Bank (3.8 percent) representing access to institutional credit. The state sector commercial banks account for 12.9 percent, while the Seylan Bank accommodated 11.6 percent. However institutional sources provide most credit for women (87.8 percent) women, with fisheries cooperative societies accounting for most of that at 61.0 percent. Borrowing for livelihood/enterprise activities (51.3 percent) by fishers and (80.5 percent) by women, with construction/repair of house (21.8 percent) by fishers and (7.3 percent) by women percent of fishers and 9.8 percent of women have borrowed to meet family exigencies from friends/relations and the village lender. The majority of fisher loans were obtained using property and/or jewelry (80.0 percent) as collateral. Investment in gold is seen as a means of savings and can be provided as security for loans by 46.7 percent of fishers and helps to facilitate quicker access to credit from institutional services. Most women borrow credit secured by group/member guarantee (90.2 percent), clearly indicating that women are being empowered through social mobilization. 109

137 The current rates of interest range between 5.0 and 18.0 percent per annum and on savings range between appear reasonable and are consistent with operational market rates. However interest on borrowing from village lenders was over 10 percent per month. Participation in insurance schemes was at low but has increased in the last few years. The main inhibiting factors for participation are a lack of regular income and uncertainty of the benefits, and whether it is really needed or not. 110

138 CHAPTER 5: CHILAW DISTRICT 5.1 A General Overview of Fisheries in Chilaw District: Socio-economic Characteristics of the Fishing Poluation Coastal Small Scale Fisheries in Chilaw a. Marine coastal fisheries Chilaw Fisheries district is situated i n the administrative district of Puttalam and has a coastline of 66 km, 11 FI divisions and 64 landing sites (see map 2 in chapter 3 and table 5.1). Table 5.1 gives the basic fishery information for the Chilaw Fisheries district. Chilaw has an active fisher population of 11,734, who live in 7,719 households. The total fisheries dependent population is 18,976. The highest number of fishers is concentrated in Chilaw North, Chilaw South, Mahawewa North and Mahawewa Central FI Divisions. Table 5.1: Basic Fisheries Information Chilaw District FI Divisions Number of Landing Centres Numbe r of Active Fishers Number of Fishing Households Fishing Dependent Population Annual Fish Landings Number of Fisheries Coops Number of other Fisheries Community Organizations Arachchikattuwa ,795 3, Chilaw Town ,475 2, Chilaw North 09 1, ,649 2, Chilaw South 07 2,807 1,207 2,332 3, Mahawewa 05 1,826 1,620 4,494 6, North Mahawewa 03 2,385 1,301 2,523 4, Central Mahawewa West , Mahawewa Souh , Naththandiya , Wennappuwa ,683 5, North Wennappuwa , South TOTAL 64 11,734 7,719 18,976 37, Source: Assistant Director of Fisheries, Chilaw, 2010 There are 58 fisheries cooperatives in Chilaw, while the number of other type of fisheries societies is 50. The largest number of fisheries organizations is found in the FI Divisions of Arachchikattuwa (14), Chilaw Town 11), Chilaw South (11), Mahawewa North (11) and Wennappuwa North (11). Chilaw has 2,766 fishing crafts, consisting of 1,660 mechanized crafts and 1,106 nonmechanized craft (see Table 5.2). 60 percent the craft are mechanized (number of mechanized craft as a percentage of total number of craft). FRP boats (OFRP) with out board motor (OBM) and non-mechanized traditional boats (NTRB) are still quite popular with fishers in Chilaw - the OFRP exceeding the number of NTRB by 20 percent. 111

139 Table 5.2: Type and number of craft by FI Division - Chilaw FI Division Landing Type and Number of Crafts Site IMUL IDAY OFRP MTRB NTRB NBSB Arachchikattuwa Chilaw Town Chilaw North Chilaw South Mahawewa North Mahawewa Central Mahawewa West Mahawewa Souh Naththandiya Wennappuwa North Wennappuwa South TOTAL , , Key: IMUL = Multi day boat with inboard engine; IDAY = One day boat with inboard engine; OFRP = Fibre Reinforced Plastic boat with outboard engine; MTRB = Motorized traditional boat; NTRB = Non-motorized traditional boat; NBSB = Non-motorized Beach Seine Boat Source: Assistant Director of Fisheries, Chilaw, 2010 The most commonly gears used by coastal small scale fishers are, handlines, gillnets and long lines. There are about 32 beach seines in Chilaw, of which 6 are non-operative because the net drying sites have been lost as the area is now being rehabilitated following heavy sea erosion. The 26 operational seines are concentrated in the following fisheries villages. 1 seine is operated in Moderawella 2 seines are operated in Thoduwawa 4 seines are operated in Kiranawila 19 seines are operated in the villages of Karukapane, Vairankattuwa, Naguleliya and Muthupanthiya. The total annual catch landed in Chilaw District in 2009 was 28,788 tons (Ministry of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources - Annual Report, 2009). The highest landings were in Chilaw South, Chilaw North, and Wennappuwa North FI Divisions. The highest catches are pelagic (blood fish) and reef fish. Of the large fish types, Skip jack (Katsuwonus pelamis) and tuna (Scrombridae spp.) dominate catches. A fairly high shrimp yield (1,282 tons) was also reported. 112

140 Table 5.3: Annual fish landings in 2009 by type of fish (kg) Chilaw District Annual landings FI Division by type of fish (Kg) Merlin Shark/ (Istiopho Other Seer Skip Jack Tuna Rays ridae Pelagics (Carchahi spp.) nidae) Reef fish Shore seine var. Arachchikattuwa - 13, ,200 14, , ,200 82,440 3, ,000 1,562,520 Chilaw South - 53, , ,420 1,964,100 57, , , ,420 5,294,400 Chilaw North ,982,380-2,867, , ,240,248 Chilaw Town 60, , , , , ,600-37, ,571,120 Mahawewa North 7,200 10, ,800 2,040 46, , ,000 7, ,000 1,248,840 Mahawewa Central , , ,039,800 Mahawewa West 24, , , , ,040 Mahawewa Souh - 5, ,680 4, , ,400 18, , ,240 Naththandiya - 1, ,200 12, ,560 86,400 4,760-57, ,840 Wennappuwa North Wennappuwa South Shrimp Lobste r Other TOTAL 13,860 14,760 86,860 46, , , , , , ,400 2,004, ,080 13, , ,600-1,583,400 2,811,420 TOTAL 51, ,420 1,300, ,220 1,344, ,960 5,318,604 2,084,760 1,281,884 11, ,878,8148 Source: Assistant Director of Fisheries, Chilaw,

141 b. Lagoon fisheries The Chilaw lagoon is a long strip of land and water extending 24.5 km. The fishing population in the lagoon is as follows. Number of Active Fishers- 998 Number of fishing households- 635 Fishing dependent population- 2,504 Fishers operate 376 non-motorised craft in the lagoon and the most commonly used gears are, the cast net, gill net, trammel net and skate net. There are about 30 skate nets in the area. The major resource harvested is shrimp. Although fishers were organised into a number of cooperative societies, the recent introduction of the Rural Fisheries Organisation (RFO) has led to the formation of 12 such societies. The officrs of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR) are actively involved in the acivities of the RFOs. DFAR is planning to establish a Lagoon Fisheries Management Authority by a gazette notification. However, no date has yet been decided for this event. Among the major issues related to lagoon fisheries is the widespread use of brushpile fisheries (piling up branches of mangrove trees in lagoon waters, allowing fish to breed and feed on the decaying branches). The issue is that, such piles are not removed and are allowed to remain for years, disturbing net laying operations by other fishers. A second, issue is the increased felling and cutting of mangroves for household use. Although RFOs are expected to introduce lagoon fisheries resources management measures, hardly any such measure has been introduced. The only management measures implemented are for craft registration and the issue of fishing licences, both undertaken by DFAR officials. However no account of carrying capacity of the lagoon fisheries is considered by DFAR when deciding whether or not to issue licences Socio-economic Characteristics of Fishery Population Introduction The survey covered a total of 1,025 fisher households in the three Fishery districts of Negombo, Chilaw and Puttalam, consisting of 814 male fishers, craft owners, crew members and fisher helpers, and 211 fisher women. The distribution of the total sample between the three ethnic groups was Sinhalese 919 (89.7 percent), Tamils 73 (7.1 percent) and Muslims 33 (3.2 percent). The distribution of sample fishers among the three districts was as follows. Negombo %, Chilaw %, and Puttalam %. The above sample household distribution and its breakdown among ethnic groups is given in Table

142 Table 5.4: Ethnic distribution of sample households - Chilaw district Ethnicity Negombo Chilaw Puttalam Total Number % Number % Number % Number % 1. Sinhalese % Tamils % Muslims % Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Table 5.4 shows that the total sample size in Chilaw district was 338 fishers of Singhalese were 92.9 percent, and Tamils 7.1 percent. There were no Muslim fishers reported in Chilaw District sample. Of the total sample of fishers, 19 (or 5.6 percent) were from female headed households. The baseline survey information was collected from male household members engaged in fishing (fisher, boat owner, crew member or a helper). Information from women was collected separately from members of female fishery associations Demographic Characteristics Gender Distribution: The demographic characteristics of sample population are presented in Table 5.6. The total sample population was 1,406 people, of which 51.0 percent (717) were male and 49.0 percent (689) female. This gender distribution of the sample population was slightly different from the gender composition of the country s population which was 49.6 percent male and 50.4 percent female, in the 2009 population estimate of the country conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics. Literacy: The total number of literate people in the sample population was 1,121 of which 67 people (6.9 percent) had had no schooling. The overall literacy rate was 79.7 percent which was relatively lower than for the Negombo fisheries district (80.2 percent) and the average national literacy rate of 96.2 percent. Samurdhi (Economic Relief provided to Householders below the poverty line) Recipients: The survey of Chilaw District revealed that out of the total sample fishers, 23.7 percent (80 people) were Samurdhi recipients. This proportion was lower than Negombo district, where 33.2 percent were Samurdhi recipients. Household Size: Of the total sample fishers, 82.5 percent (279 fishers) lived in a household with 3 5 people. The proportion of households with 2 members or less was 8.0 percent (27 fishers) of total sample households and the number of members with six or more was 9.5 percent (32). The average household size of Chilaw District was 4.16 persons, which very slightly lower than the average household size of 4.2 persons for the country. The average size of the sample households is presented in Table

143 Table 5.5: Main characteristics of sample households - Chilaw District Characteristic Chilaw Number % 1. Female Headed Receiving Samurdhi Size of Household - 2 or less to and above Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Level of Education: Out of the total population of 1,406, 72.2 percent (1,015 people) had received education level to less than GCE O/L. Only 8.3 percent (116 people) had passed GCE O/L and another 2.6 percent (37 people) had passed GCE A/L. Only 3 people (0.2 percent) had tertiary level education. The demographic characteristics of the sample population and their educational status are presented in Table 5.6. Table 5.6: Demographic characteristics of sample population - Chilaw District Characteristic Chilaw Number % I. Number in the Household 1, Males Females ii. Age Groups 1, Below 5 Years years years years Above 60 years iii. Literacy Rate (%) iv. Education Level 1, No Schooling Below GCE O/L 1, Passed O/L Passed A/L Vocational Education Higher Education No-response v. Employment 1, Employee and contribute to household income Assist Household Activities Full Time Education Unemployed Infants No-response Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District,

144 Fishing Activity: The type of fishing activity conducted by sample fishers is presented in Table 5.7. Table 5.7: Type of fisheries activity of sample fishers - Chilaw Fishing Activity Boat Owner Crew Member Helper 117 Temporary Crew Total Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Beach Seining Inshore Fishing Lagoon Fishing Diving/Offshore Fishing No Response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Table 5.7 shows that the largest number of households, 76.3 percent of the total of 270, were engaged in inshore coastal craft fishing, while the second largest percentage of households 15.5 percent were engaged in lagoon fishing, i.e. 92 percent of sample households were directly engaged in either coastal or lagoon fishing. When beach seining activity is also included under inshore fishing the total inshore fishing population comprises almost 98 percent of the sampled fishers. Although the survey was expected to cover only the coastal and lagoon fishing sector, there were 3 people,(1.1 percent) one boat owner and two crew members who were engaged in diving/off shore fishing.. Table 5.8 shows the importance of fishing activity as a means of livelihood for sampled fishers. Table 5.8: Fishing as a means of livelihood - Chilaw Category Chilaw Number % Major livelihood Supplementary livelihood No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Means of Livelihood: Table 5.8 above shows that of the total sample of households, 78.1 percent (264 fishers) stated that fishing was their main livelihood; while fishing was a supplementary livelihood for 1.5 percent (5 fishers). 69 households (20.4 percent of the total) did not respond the question. This may have been due to an unwillingness to divulge their income source(s) Housing Condition One important proxy indicator used to show the economic situation of a community is housing condition. Housing, on the one hand, depicts the standard of living of different members within a community and, can also be used to compare the social status between

145 different communities. The present housing condition of Chilaw district fishers, together with household utilities therein, indicates that fisher households in Chilaw district have comparatively better socio-economic status than Negombo and Puttalam districts. Table 5.9 provides the salient characteristics of fisher housing conditions as reported in the RFLP INS baseline survey. Table 5.9: Salient characteristics of fisher housing - Chilaw Item Chilaw Number % i. Ownership Owned Rented/Leased Rent free ii. Type Permanent* Semi-permanent** Temporary iii. Floor Area sq. ft or less sq ft Above 300 sq ft iv. Number of Rooms Rooms and less More than 2 rooms Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 * Houses where the roofs, walls and the floors are constructed with permanent material **Houses where either roofs, walls or floors are constructed with semi-permanent material Structure of Housing: Only 5.3 percent of respondents were living in temporary housing, which represents a big decline from the 2001 housing census when 26.6 percent of housing in Puttalam district was recorded as temporary (Chilaw fisheries district falls within the Puttalam administrative district). Ownership of Housing: Only 7.7 percent of fishers of Chilaw District owned their own houses (similar to the proportion in Negombo District) percent of fishers lived in rented or leased houses. The remaining 11.5 percent lived in rent free houses, most probably as squatters. Floor Area: The floor area of houses in Chilaw District was relatively large with 79 percent of houses having a floor area of more than 100 sq. ft. (10 m 2 ) percent (167 fishers) lived in houses with a floor area of more than 300 sq. ft. (30 m 2 ). However 61.2 percent of the total sample houses had 2 or less rooms. Housing Amenities: Information on fisher household utilities in Chilaw district is presented in Table

146 Table 5.10: Information on amenities available for fisher houses - Chilaw District Item Chilaw Number % i. Lighting Electricity Kerosene ii. Cooking Energy LP Gas Kerosene Fuel Wood Saw Dust / paddy husk 0.0 iii. Source of Drinking Water Piped Water Tube Well Protected Well Unprotected Well River/Stream Rain Water No response iv. Toilet Facilities Flush & Water Seal Pit Latrine No Latrine No response Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Lighting and Cooking Fuel: As presented in Table 5.10, 83 percent of fisher houses use electricity for lighting, while 17 percent use kerosene. All fisher households use LP gas, kerosene and wood as their main source of cooking fuel, with the largest proportion of 70.7 percent using wood for cooking. Drinking Water Supply: The majority of fishers (63.9 percent) had access to piped water. This was higher than the national average for piped water supply which is about 54 percent of the total population. Another 10.9 percent of fisher houses use tube wells as their source of drinking water, meaning that almost 75 percent of the sample population had access to quality water supply. The number of fisher households using protected wells was 17.5 percent (59 of total sample) so that the total percentage of households with an acceptable drinking water supply percentage was 92 percent, which is higher than the national average for acceptable drinking water quality availability. Sanitation: Table 5.10 shows that 93 percent of the sample households had flush and sealed toilets was 93 percent. Only 1.8 percent households were using pit latrines. 6 households reported having no toilets (equivalent to 1.8 percent of the sample). However, 11 households (3.3 percent of the sample) did not respond to the question on the availability of toilets. 119

147 Ownership of Land and Assets Ownership of Land: Land ownership of sample fisher households of Chilaw district is presented in Table 5.11, below. Table 5.11: Land ownership of fisher households - Chilaw Extent Chilaw Number % 10 Perches or Less More than 10 perches* No land ownership - No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 * Perch = 25.29m percent of fisher households reported owning land, while 3.8 percent households (13 people) did not respond to the question. Of the total sample in Chilaw district, 45.3 percent (153) owned less that 10 perches of land and 50.9 percent owned more than 10 perches of land. Larger land holdings usually indicate low population density, low land value, and/or better socio-economic status. Ownership of Household Assets: The ownership of household appliances of sample fishers is given in Table Table 5.12: Household appliances of fisher households - Chilaw Type Chilaw Number % Radio/Cassette Television Mobile phone Sewing machine Set of furniture Refrigerator Computer Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Tble 5.12 indicates that the living standard of fisher households was comparatively higher when compared to other sectors of the country, rural villagers and estate workers. Almost 87 percent of fisher households had television sets in their houses. 69 percent of fisher households owned a radio/cassette and 72,7 percent had mobile phones. The ownership of and use of mobile phones is understandable given that it is the only medium of communication that fishers having to contact their relatives and the outside world while they are at sea. Only 7 households (2.1 percent) of the sample households owned computers. Ownership of Vehicles: The ownership of vehicles of sample households is depicted in Table

148 Table 5.13: Ownership of vehicles by Chilaw fisher households - Chilaw Type Chilaw Number % Bicycle Motor Bicycle Bullock Cart - Three Wheeler Van Motor Car Truck/Lorry/Bus - Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 The majority of fisher households (49.7 percent) owned bicycles. About 29 percent of the households owned motor-cycles (a larger percentage than in Negombo) and another 5 percent owned three wheelers. There were two vans and one motor car owned by the sample fisher households. Ownership of Fishing Vessels and Fishing Gear: The ownership of fishing vessels and fishing gear by Chilaw District fisher households is presented in Table 5.14, below. Table 5.14: Ownership of fishing vessels and fishing gear by Chilaw District fisher households Type Chilaw Number % Multi day boat One day boat OFRD boat - MTRB - NTRB - NBSB - Gill net - Longline - Cast net - Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Fishers in Chilaw owned more vessels and gear than in Negombo district percent (110 fishers) of sample fishers owned one-day boats, but none of the respondents identified the type of fishing gear they were using when answering the baseline survey questionnaire. Two sample fishers owning multi-day boats and do not therefore fall within the RFLP target beneficiary group of small-scale inshore fishers Employment, Income and Food Security of Fisher Households Type of Employment: Information collected in the survey was analyzed to get a view of the nature of employment of the members of sample fisher households. The summarized information of Chilaw district survey is presented in Table

149 Table 5.15: Numbers of household members engaged in employment categories - Chilaw Type Chilaw Number % Regular paid employees Casual paid employees Employers Self employed Unpaid family workers Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Structure of Employment: The total of 338 sample households in Chilaw district had 412 people in employment, i.e. each fisher household had, on average, 1.22 income earners, which was much less than the proportion of Negombo district (1.54). The majority household members, 37.4 percent (or 154 members) were employed as regular paid employees, while 31.6 percent were self employed (n = 130). The proportion of casual paid employees was also comparatively larger than in Negombo district, at about 29 percent compared to 18 percent in Negombo. In the Chilaw district there were only 2 who were employing others. Of course, the proportion of unpaid family workers was also low and was reported at only 1.2 percent (5 respondents of the total). Average Monthly Income: Table 5.16 provides information on average monthly income of the income earning members of fisher households in Chilaw district. Table 5.16: Average monthly income of fisher household income earners - Chilaw Level of Income Chilaw Number % Below Rs. 2,500 per month Rs. 2,501-5,000 per month Rs. 5,001-10,000 per month Above Rs. 10, Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Monthly Income: Table 5.16 shows that 42 percent of income earners of fisher family members were receiving a monthly income of more than Rs. 10,000 and another 27 percent were receiving a monthly income of between Rs. 5,001 10,000. Accordingly, 69 percent of fisher family members were earning a monthly income of Rs or more and this was consistent with the information given in Table 5.5 on the number of households receiving Samurdhi assistance. Food Security: All fisher households were asked about the availability of food for household consumption during the past 12 months. For this the enumerators were instructed to assist interviewees to recall the most difficult periods of food shortage during the past 12 months and to go forward and backward to obtain the most correct answers. The main question was to collect information on the number of meals consumed per day by the household during the past 12 months. The responses received from the sample households are summarized in Table

150 Table 5.17: Consumption pattern of sample households during the past 12 months - Chilaw Number of Meals / Day Chilaw Number % 3 meals per day meals per day meal per day Other - Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Survey information showed that 96 percent of fisher households had consumed three meals a day throughout the last 12 months, while another 3.8 percent of households had consumed only two meals for just a few days of the year. Only 2 fisher households (0.6 percent of the total sample) stated that they were had been reduced to eating only one meal per day for just a few days during the last 12 months. However, about 47 percent of households (158 out of the total of 338 households) stated that they faced difficulty due to food shortages, at times, during the past one year but were able to resolve the situation through the measures stated in Table Table 5.18: Type of actions taken during food shortages Chilaw District Type of Action Chilaw Number % Reduced the number of meals eaten Consumed substitutes Pawned jewelry or other items Borrowed money Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Only 78 fisher households responded to the survey question on the impact of food shortage on household members in terms of some specific identified outcomes. Four possible impacts were listed in the questionnaire and enumerators were advised to discuss with the respondents and to obtain the most appropriate answers and then to have the respondents rank them in order of priority. In fact, the 78 households which responded to the question only 46 fishers ranked the items as requested. Their responses are presented in Table 5.19 Table 5.19: Impact of food shortage on fisher households (Priority ranking) - Chilaw Type of Impact Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 Total Number % Number % Number % Number % Severe effect on health Search of alternative employment Loss of productivity Loss of school days Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District,

151 Fishers were asked to comment or present their views related to food shortages suffered during the past 12 months by the household members. The responses received from sample fishers in Chilaw district are presented in Table Table 5.20: Comments/remarks received from Chilaw fishers related to food shortage - Chilaw Chilaw Number % 1. Started their own business Reduced their food consumption No chance to do a job Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 The majority of respondents reported starting their own business to cope with the impacts of food shortage. However only 31 households (or 9.2 percent of the total sample) responded to the question. The answers may not therefore be fully representative of fisher households in Chilaw district. Alcohol Consumption: Another question addressed to the fisher households collected information on their consumption of illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco. The question was responded to by 49 percent of sample households. The results are presented in table Table 5.21: Number of people consuming drugs, alcohol and tobacco - Chilaw Type Chilaw Number % Illegal drugs Tobacco Alcohol Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, percent (12 people) admitted to taking drugs, though more fishers 58.6 percent (n=99) drank alcohol and 34.3 percent (n=58) smoked tobacco. The respondents were asked their frequency of consuming drugs, alcohol or tobacco. Their responses are given in Table Table 5.22: Frequency of consuming drugs, tobacco and alcohol - Chilaw Frequency Chilaw Number % Daily About once a week About once in two weeks About once a month Occasionally Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District,

152 Frequency of drugs use: 38 percent (63 people) reported consuming drugs, alcohol and/or tobacco almost daily; another 34.9 percent about once a week; and 6 percent once every two weeks. The third component of the question was to estimate the amount of money spent on drugs, alcohol or tobacco per month. Table 5.23 presents the information on average monthly expenditure on drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Table 5.23: Monthly expenditure on drugs, alcohol and tobacco - Chilaw Frequency Chilaw Number % < Rs. 100 per month Rs per month Rs per month More than Rs. 1,001 per month Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Monthly Expenditure: More than 82 percent of respondents resported spending more than Rs. 500 per month on drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Almost 61 percent of respondents reported spending more than Rs. 1,000 per month. This is equivalent to more than 25 percent of the income declared by the households. This suggests that the respondents have either overestimated the amount they spend on drugs, tobacco and alcohol, or have under estimated their income hoping to get government or RFLP assistance. Child Labour: The other questions of the questionnaire requesting information on engagement of children in fisheries activities were responded negatively. Therefore, it is accepted that no fisher is employing child labour in Chilaw fisheries district. In this regard, it is important to state that the law of the land prohibits any person, irrespective of whether they are parents or relatives, employing any child below school going age of less than 14 years. The police as well as the National Child Protection Authority is very vigilant and prosecute anybody who is violating the legal provision in a court of law. This had prevented employing children on paid or not activities on income earning nature. There is no reporting of unpaid work by family members under the age of Co-Management Evolution of Fisheries in Chilaw The evolution of the fisheries sector in the Chilaw district was studied using the historical profile technique at Focus Group Discussions held with fishers. As revealed by information furnished in Table 5.24, the number of fishing craft, active fishers, landing sites, fish price, number of middle-traders, technology and post-harvest facilities, have all increased over the past 15 years. Except for the increasing number of fishing craft and the numbers of active fishers which will both impact negatively on the aquatic resources, the other listed factors are likely to have made a positive contribution to the fisheries sector. A slight decrease in fish stocks was noted b y fishers. The increasing cost of fishing gear, would have had negative impacts on the net profits of the sector. Infrastructure and transportation appear to have remained stagnant over the years. Fishers reported that the processing sector had declined. 125

153 Table 5.24 Evolution of the fisheries sector of Chilaw Criteria Fish stock Fishing craft Active fishers Landing sites Infrastructure facilities Fish price $$$$ $$$$ $$$$$$ Middle-traders J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J Cost of fishing gear B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B Technology Post-harvest facilities Processing Transport Source: Focus Group Discussions, Chilaw District Past and present policies There have been many changes in the management of fisheries, arising from changes in policy onfishing zones, fishing regulations, community organization, resources management, safety, technology, infrastructure, and fisheries administration, as revealed by information furnished in Table Information was obtained through open discussions and agreements reached on past and present policies. A number of fisheries management measures have been introduced, including fishing licenses, bans on the use of environmentally destructive resource extraction methods/gears, strict enforcement of fisheries regulations and coast conservation measures. High attention has also been given to community welfare measures, such as the introduction of a fisher s pension scheme, insurance schemes, issuing fishers identity cards, and the provision of credit facilities, etc. The major administrative changes in the last 15 years have included measures to improve sea safety, the introduction of the provincial administration system and the establishment of the Rural Fisheries Organizations (See Table 5.25). Table 5.25: Past and Present Policies related to Fisheries Chilaw District Policy Past Present Impact Fishery resources Open sea usage Destruction of mangrove Fishing Relaxed and liberal regulations Demarcation (Coastal, offshore) Ban on clearing and destruction Coast conservation Fishing licenses Insurance of craft Prohibited gear Determining operational times Maintaining fish production records Fishers identity cards Conflicts related to poaching Protection of marine resources Conservation of fishery resources Sea worthiness of crafts and safety Reduction of time and effort waste Conflict with fishery officials 126

154 Policy Past Present Impact Law enforcement Beneficial impact on resources. Technology Traditional methods Introduction of improved technology Enhanced quality harvest Established a quality control unit at DFAR Quality standards established Community Organization Through fisheries co-operative Rural Fisheries Organization Fishery interests strengthened societies State sponsored loan Assured relief Financial schemes and subsidies Assistance Introduction of insurance and pension schemes Safety Poor attention Introduction of safety measures Ensured safety Insurance scheme Administrative Controlled by Central Central & Provincial Government Enhanced fishery community Government Participation of NGOs welfare Source: Focus Group Discussions with Fisheries Officials Chilaw The concept of co-management About two thirds of fishers had some understanding of the concept of co-management, while 16.2 percent had no understanding of the concept at all. Disaggregation of information by technological category revealed that fishers operating traditional crafts were the least informed on the concept of co-management (see Table 5.26). Table 5.26: Extent of understanding of the concept of co-management- Chilaw Extent of understanding of the concept of co-management Percentage of fishers reporting NTRB NBSB (n=46) MTRB OFRP (n=72) Lagoon (n=83) All (204) Percentage of fisher women reporting (n=41) Understand well Understand to some degree Do not understand Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 It was evident that the responses that most fishers have a less than perfect understanding of the concept of co-management. Information obtained from women was largely similar to that of men. However, a higher percentage (23.5 percent) of women compared to men (16.2 percent) reported not understanding the concept of co-management at all. 127

155 Although both fishers and fisher women, knew that both state and non-state (community) actors were involved in managing fisheries resources, they could not relate this to comanagement, because of their lack of awareness and understanding of the concept Presence of co-management systems Table 5.27 below shows that about 28 percent of the fishers reported that there exist comanagement systems in their area. The actors involved in co-management were reported as being, i) the community; ii) the government; and iii) some Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs). According to the understanding of fishers, the community involvement in comanagement appears to be higher (70.4 percent) than government involvement (28 percent). The responses of women were quite different. Only about half of them thought that only the community was involved in co-management and, only a low percentage (8.3 percent) reported any state involvement in co-management. Surprisingly, 43.3 percent of women did not respond to the question, which may relate to their lack of understanding of the concept of co-management. Table 5.27: Involvement of diverse actors in co-management - Chilaw (n = fishers 246, women 42) Involvement of diverse actors in comanagement Percentage of fishers reporting Percentage of fisher women reporting Community only Government only NGO No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Discussions with fisheries officials revealed that there were four main organizations involved in fisheries management in Chilaw. The various organizations, their responsibilities, extent of involvement of both the community and state actors, and the issues identified are given in Table 5.28 below. Table 5.28: Type of organizations involved in fisheries management - Chilaw Organization Responsibilities Issues Remarks/Suggestions Department of Sustainable Financial Financial allocation Fisheries and development constraints Provision of Aquatic Resources Fisheries Development Shortage of craft, engines requirements Involvement in fisheries management -60% and gear National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) Disseminate new technologies to fishers Weak information flow Provide knowledge and training 128

156 Organization Responsibilities Issues Remarks/Suggestions Rural Fisheries Legal/welfare fisheries Lack of legal Constitution and Organization Co-management of status empowerment Financial management Selection Appropriate State & community involvement in management: 50:50. incompetent office bearers training in management skills Fisheries Cooperative Societies Provision of loans Welfare measures Working in partnership with the Fisheries Inspector Involvement in comanagement: 50:50. Source: Focus group Discussions and Key Informant Discussions, Chilaw District, 2010 All the organizations mentioned in Table 5.28 are assumed to be involved in fisheries management. The Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources is very much involved in fisheries management, because it is responsible for issuing fishing licenses, registration of fishing vessels, enforcement of state laws, taking action against those engaged in illegal fishing activities and conflict resolution. The respondent fisheries officials assessed their involvement as 60 percent. Although the Rural Fisheries Organization are meant to be involved in fisheries management it is too premature to predict anything about their level of involvement in fisheries management. However, the fisheries cooperatives in the area were also involved in fisheries management, and the state-community involvement in management was noted as 50:50. This reveals the important role played by the Fisheries Inspector in working hand in hand with community fisheries organizations. Due to its involvement in research and development, which make an important contribution towards sustainable fisheries, NARA was also identified as an important institution for fisheries management. Whether, NARA is involved in co-management however is rather questionable. However, all these are cases of the existence of co-management to varying degrees. In fact, the involvement of the state itself has brought about a number of management measures into the organizations. What is lacking is a proper co-management plan and standard mechanisms. Co-management is only implicit in various activities, but not explicitly stated or implemented. Among the various issues associated with these cooperative organizations were, poor financial status, lack of legal status (in the case of Rural Fisheries Organizations), lack of proper management plans, and poor and bad selection procedure of office bearers Attitudes of fishers towards fisheries management systems The questionnaire used in field studies attempted to elicit information on how the respondents perceived fisheries management as the responsibility of different actors; the community and the state. Aggregate sample data indicated that 53.1 percent of the fishers believed that both the state and the community should jointly manage the resources, indicating the importance of forming public-private partnerships in management and of the need for co-management. 129

157 Surprisingly, about a third of the fishers (35.6 percent) were of the view that, fisheries management should only be the responsibility of the government, which perhaps reveals their lack of faith in community organizations in managing fisheries resources (see Table 5.29). Table 5.29: Fishers perception about management systems - Chilaw Type of management system Percentage of fishers responding NTRB MTRB NBSB (n=37) OFRP (n=55) Lagoon (n=68) All (160) Percentage of fisher women respondents (55) There should be only traditional management systems The traditional management system should be changed There might be a combination of traditional and formal management systems There should be only formal management systems No response 19.1 Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Data disaggregated by technological category revealed only a few minor differences from aggregate data (Table 5.29). Comparatively, quite a high proportion of fishers operating traditional crafts (21.6 percent) thought that there should only be traditional management systems. Both lagoon fishers and those operating motorized crafts had higher confidence in joint management of resources (both state and community involvement). Those having the highest confidence in joint management and lowest in the formal management were the lagoon fishers. This could be attributed to the fact the lagoon resources are being exploited by a large number of societies (community organizations) and no lagoon fisheries management authority has been established yet, although plans are now being prepared to establish such an authority (like in Negombo). In contrast to what has been reported by men, more than half of the women respondents thought that only the government should manage fishery resources. Only a negligible number (1.5 percent) reported that community management systems should be used to manage fishery resources, perhaps revealing the failure of the community organizations in adopting any successful management measures. About 18 percent of the women thought that fisheries management should be the joint responsibility of the state and the community Extent of Government Involvement The government involvement in fisheries management appears to be moderate to low. About 41 percent of the fishers reported that there was moderate involvement, while about 49 percent reported that government involvement was low (Table 5.30). 130

158 Table 5.30: Extent of government involvement from the perception of fishers and fisher women - Chilaw (n = fishers 247, women 59) Extent of Government Involvement Percentage of fishers reporting Percentage of women reporting High involvement Moderate involvement Low involvement No-response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 However, more women than men (10.3 percent as against 2.2 percent) thought that there was high government involvement in fisheries resources management. A fairly high percentage of women (13.2 percent) women did not respond to this question, perhaps showing their lack of understanding as to the measures adopted by different actors in resources management Extent of satisfaction of fishers with the present management system Only a negligible percentage of fishers (1 percent) were highly satisfied with the present management system, though 39 percent of fishers were satisfied with it. The less satisfied group represents 36 percent of the respondent fishers. The dis-satisfied group was quite low (16 percent). Dissatisfied data disaggregated by technological category indicate that, fishers operating non-mechanized crafts were less satisfied (24 percent) or dis-satisfied (24 percent) with the present management system than others (Table 5.31). Table 5.31: Peoples satisfaction with the present management system - Chilaw Extent of satisfaction with the present management system NTRB NBSB (n=45) Percentage of fishers reporting MTRB OFRP (n=73) Lagoon (n=78) All (196) Percentage of women reporting (60) Highly satisfied Satisfied Less satisfied Dissatisfied No idea / don t know No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 The responses of women were largely similar to those of men, with the exception that the dissatisfied group was quite low (7.4 percent). It is also to be noted that, 11.8 percent of women did not respond to this question, perhaps indicating a lack of knowledge of the current management measures. 131

159 5.2.8 Participation in meetings related to management It should be emphasized again that, organizations of the small-scale fishers studied included fisheries cooperatives and other community organizations. Thus the term meeting is used to indicate the meetings held by these organizations. Fisher participation in meetings was measured on a scale ranging from regular participation to no participation. Almost a third of the fisher respondents (35.3 percent) regularly participate in meetings, while about 21 percent of them did not participate in meetings at all. Those who have not responded (11.3 percent) might also fall into the latter category. About 18.6 percent said they participated in meetings only rarely (see Table 5.32). Table 5.32: Peoples participation in meetings related to fisheries management - Chilaw Participation in meetings Percentage of fishers reporting Percentage of women reporting(64) NTRB NBSB (n=46) MTRB OFRP (n=65) Lagoon (n=72) All (183) Regularly Occasionally Rarely Never No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District,2010 In contrast to men, women's participation in meetings was very high (81 percent), revealing their higher involvement in the fisheries management process than men. Figure 5.1 indicates the extent of participation of women in management and their involvement in decision making based on information obtained from Focus Group Discussions, where the women participants were asked to mark their responses in any of the four quadrants in Figure 5.1. Decision Making Participation Figure 5.1: Extent of participation and decision making by women in fisheries management - Chilaw Source: Focus Group Discussions, Chilaw District,

160 It is quite clear that women s participation in diverse associations involved in fisheries management is quite high. However, the extent of their participation in decision making appeared to be moderate. Disaggregated data by technological category gives a similar picture for all types of fishers except for lagoon fishers. Both the proportion of participating fishers (39.3 percent) and non-participating fishers (22.6 percent) were higher than other groups Participation of state officials Among a number of objectives, focus group discussions with fishers in Chilaw were aimed at understanding the involvement of various officers in the activities of fisheries cooperatives. The results of this exercise are summarized in Figure 5.2. Fishers Officers Fisheries Inspector Extent of Participation Extent of Involvement Co-operative Inspector Audit Officer Co-operative Director Assistant Director of Fisheries Grama Niladari (Village Officer) Provincial Minister Divisional Secretary Coastal Conservation Officer Figure 5.2: Extent of participation and involvement in fisheries management by state officers Source: Focus Group Discussions, Chialw District, 2010 The extent of participation and involvement of the provincial minister, coast conservation officer and the divisional secretary appears to be either zero or negligible. Involvement of the 133

161 cooperative inspector, the director of cooperatives and the audit officer was reported as very low (about 25 percent). A very high extent of participation and involvement was reported for the fisheries inspector, assistant director of fisheries and the grama niladhari (Village Officer). From focus group discussions with women, who were more involved with the activities of the fisheries cooperative societies, a similar exercise was conducted to obtain information on the participation of state officers in the society s activities (Figure 5.3). Fishers Officers Fisheries Officer (Female) Extent of Participation Extent of Involvement Fisheries Inspector (Male) Co-operative Inspector Figure 5.3: Extent of participation of state officers in the activities of fisheries cooperatives It is evident that fisheries inspectors were more active than cooperative officers (officers of the Department of Cooperatives), in the activities of the cooperative societies. However, while the involvement of female fisheries officers was reported to be quite high (75 percent), male FIs were reported to participate and be involved in the activities of the cooperative society to a much lower extent Organizations related to fisheries management and type of involvement There are two major organizations related to fisheries management; the Fisheries Cooperative Society and the newly established Rural Fisheries Organization. However, people also indicated that the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) was also involved in fisheries management. The Cooperative society had held 5 meetings during the last 6 months and only 3 had been attended by fishers. The new Rural Fisheries Organization and other societies, had held an average of 4 meetings during the last 6 months, but the average number of meetings attended by fishers was only 2. NARA had organized two meetings and both had been attended by fishers. In general, it can be said that only about 50 percent of the meetings of fisheries organizations (except NARA) were attended by fishers (Table 5.33). 134

162 Table 5.33: Meetings held by fisher organizations and meeting attendance men - Chilaw men District Name of Organization Average number of Average number of meetings held during meetings attended last 6 months during last 6 months Fisheries Society 4 2 Chilaw Fisheries Coop Society 5 3 NARA 3 3 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Women reported involvement in three additional fisheries organizations; the Dheevara Kantha Sangamaya (Fisher Women s Association), SANASA (cooperative lending societies) and CEDEC - a catholic organization (linked to CARITAS network) which provides assistance to fishers. Most of these organizations have had monthly meetings and, the participation of women in these meetings has been extremely high (almost 100 percent). Table 5.34: Meetings held by fisher organizations and meeting attendance women - Chilaw District Chilaw Name of Organization Average Number of meetings held during last 6 months Women Average Number of meetings attended during last 6 months Fisheries Society Fisheries Coop Society Fisher Women s Association Sanasa Society - - CEDEC Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Type of participation in current management practices The questionnaire tried to elicit information on respondent s involvement in i) Planning, ii) Decision making, iii) Rule enforcement, iv) Conflict resolution, and, v) Dealing with outsiders. As indicated in Table 5.35, about 15 percent of all fishers did not participate in any management activity. Approximately 16 percent of the fishers did not respond to the questions, which could also mean they were not involved in management, which would make the total of non-participating fishers to be about 31 percent. Fishers participation was higher in conflict resolution than in other practices. The lowest involvement was reported for rule enforcement (6.4 percent). Disaggregated data by technological category indicate that more motorized fishers participate in planning (25.7 percent) and conflict resolution (34 percent) more than other categories. Traditional fishers were the group least involved in management practices. Lagoon fishers were the group that participated most in rule enforcement (as reported by 13 percent of the respondents). 135

163 Table 5.35: Participation in management practices; fishers and women - Chilaw Management practice NTRB NBSB (n=43) Percentage of fishers reporting MTRB OFRP (n=75) Lagoon (n=73) All (191) Percentage of women reporting (42) Planning Decision Making Rule Enforcement Conflict Resolution Dealing with outsiders No Involvement No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 In contrast to fishers (where 15.7 percent did not respond to the questions, all women responded. Their participation in decision making (34.3 percent) and conflict resolution (24.5 percent) were fairly high compared to the involvement of men. Women reported being more active than men in the process of management Extent of influence of fishers actions on improving fisheries management Information on the extent to which fishers actions influenced the management process were obtained on a scale ranging from strong influence to no influence. In general, the actions of fishers have not had strong influence on the management process. However 64.4 percent of fishers stated that their actions have moderately influenced the management process. Only about 21 percent of the fishers reported that their actions had either little or no influence on the management process (Table 5.36). Table 5.36: Influence of fishers actions and women on improving management - Chilaw (n = fishers 251, women 64) Actions of fishers/women influencing improvement in fisheries management Percentage of fishers reporting Percentage of women reporting Strongly influenced Moderately influenced Little influenced No influence No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 In contrast to what was reported by men, about 84 percent of women reported that their actions had either strongly or moderately influenced improved management processes. Again women s active participation in the management process was quite evident. 136

164 Impact of fisheries management in improving the well being of fishers As revealed by information provided in Table 5.37 only 4.1 percent of the respondents felt that there was no impact of fisheries management on their well being, while 13.7 percent of the fishers reported that the impact on their well being was high. The majority of the fishers (about 73 percent) reported that the impact on their well being had been either moderate or little. However, the fact that 45 percent of the fishers reported a moderate impact of management on their well being, shows that fisheries management has paid dividends. Table 5.37: Impact of fisheries management on well being improvements - Chilaw (n = Fishers 246 women 62) Impact of fisheries management on Wellbeing improvements Percentage of fishers reporting Percentage of women reporting High impact Moderate impact Little impact No impact No response Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 The responses to the same question of women were the same as those reported by fishers Suggestions for improvement of stakeholder involvement in fisheries management Suggestions made by fishers to improve stakeholder involvement in fisheries management are given in Table Increased government and NGO support to fisheries and provision of facilities to cooperatives (followed by the provision of crafts and gear at concessionary rates were the factors highlighted by fishers, as those conducive to improve stakeholder involvement in management. More than 50 percent of the fishers suggested the first two factors; increased government and NGO support to fisheries (25.8 percent) and provision of facilities to coops (25.3 percent) as the most important factors in this respect. The suggestions made by fishers were all related to their profession and what is required by fishers to improve their well being. Approximately 10 percent of the fishers proposed the organization of awareness and training programmes, and about 11 percent proposed the provision of craft, gear and other equipment at concessionary rates. Although reported by nearly half of the women (46.4 percent), provision of credit facilities was the most important factor suggested to improve stakeholder involvement in the current management process, followed by the provision of craft and gear at concessionary rates (22.7 percent), welfare improvement for fishers (13.4 percent) and training for self employment and organization of educative and awareness programmes (12.4 percent). The first suggestion was probably aimed at improving their access to alternative livelihood opportunities, which also related to the last suggestion (on training). 137

165 Table 5.38: Suggestions for improvement of current stakeholder practices in fisheries management - Chilaw (n = fishers 186 women 68) Suggestions for improvement in current stakeholder involvement in fisheries management Percentage of Fishers Percentage of women reporting reporting Soft loans and grants Provision of nets and equipment at concessionary rates Training for self employment and educative and awareness campaigns Welfare improvement of fishers Intervention in fish prices Facilitate further entry into fisheries - Increase government support and the support of nonstate actors to fisheries Improve and provide facilities to cooperatives Contribution to fisheries by honest officers and changes in management Introduce new technology Establish harmony among different stakeholders by organizing regular meetings Resolving problems in fisheries Banning illegal activities Ability to voice fisher problems through the cooperatives Equal distribution of subsidies 2.2 Total Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Influence of changes in fisheries management on the status of fisheries resources About 12 percent of the fishers reported that management changes were highly beneficial for the status of resources (Table 5.39). However, the majority of fishers (76.3 percent) believed that management changes were only moderately beneficial to the status of aquatic resources. Very few (1.9 percent) reported that management changes have no benefits on resource status. It was also noted that the impacts of management changes on resources take a long time and were also difficult to observe unless correct assessments were made. Moreover, certain changes in management, like the establishment of new community organizations Rural Fisheries Organization, were quite recent and fishers are unlikely to have observed any changes in the status of fisheries resources during that short time period. 138

166 Table 5.39: Influence of management changes on the status of resources - Chilaw (n =fishers 244) Influence of management changes on the status of resources Percentage of fishers reporting Highly beneficial 11.9 Moderately beneficial 76.3 Little beneficial 0.4 Not beneficial 1.9 No response 9.6 Total 100 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Importance of management measures that have been introduced The fisher respondents were asked to rank management changes, according to their importance,(ranks 1, 2 and 3 where 1 was the most important). As revealed by Table 5.40, fisher respondents thought that input control was the most important form of management change, followed by organizational changes and, the participation of women. Table 5.40: Importance of different management measures - Chilaw (n = fishers 152 women 49) Management Change Avg. Ranks of fishers reporting Avg. Ranks of women reporting Input control Organizational changes Women participation Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 While input control was ranked fist by women, they also thought that their participation was also quite important in management, and thereafter organizational changes Organizations / people instrumental in introducing management changes Fishers identified only the fisheries community organizations, state officials, politicians and the RFLP project as those organizations / people instrumental in introducing management changes. The ranking exercise carried with the respondents revealed the order of ranks (from high to low) as community organization, state officials, politicians and the RFLP project. Of course the RFLP project has just commenced and very little work has been done in this sphere. (See Table 5.41). The involvement of politicians could be related to the recent decision by the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to establish the Rural Fisheries Organizations, in order to better meet the needs of the sector. 139

167 Table 5.41: Organizations/ people introducing management changes - Chilaw (n = men 148, women 54) Organization/people introducing management changes Avg. Ranks given by fishers Avg. Ranks given by women Community Organization State officials Politicians RFLP Project Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 The results of the same exercise with women produced similar results. Women gave the same ranking to the community and the state in introducing management changes. In general, the results revealed the importance of both public (government) and private (community) involvement in introducing the desired management changes and therefore the importance of co-management Perception of fishers on the status of fisheries resources The perception of respondents on the status of the resources was measured on a 5 point scale; good, satisfactory and improving, satisfactory, poor, poor and degrading, no idea. Only a small percentage of fishers (2.2 percent) said that the resources were in a good status. A sizeable proportion of the respondents (54.4 percent) were of the view that the status of the resources was satisfactory (see Table 5.42). Conversely 25.6 percent thought that the resources were in a poor status. About 4.1 percent thought that the resources were further degrading while 12 percent thought that the status of the resources was improving. In general, the majority of the fisher (68 percent) respondents thought that the status of the resources was either satisfactory or good. This suggests that fisheries resources in Chilaw district are reasonably healthy. Table 5.42: Fisher s perception about the status of aquatic resources - Chilaw (n=266) Perception 140 Percentage of fishers reporting Good 2.2 Satisfactory and improving 11.9 Satisfactory 54.4 Poor 25.6 Poor and degrading 4.1 No idea / don t know 0.4 No response 1.5 Total 100 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Institutions/organizations involved in conflict resolution A number of institutions were reported as being involved in conflict resolution to different degrees. Fisheries cooperatives and the Rural Fisheries Organization were identified by men as the organizations having a high capacity (reported by 13.7 percent and 17.4 percent

168 respectively) to resolve conflicts (Table 5.43). Of those possessing an average capacity to resolve conflicts, the Department of Fisheries (10.4 percent), fisheries cooperatives (11.1 percent), the recently established Rural Fisheries Organizations (10.7 percent) and the other fisheries organizations (community organizations not clearly identified) were of more importance. However, noteworthy was the absence of any effective state or community organization or a partnership of both, in resolving conflicts in the coastal fisheries of Chilaw district. Community organizations were identified as having the most influence in resolving conflicts. Of particular interest was the high proportion of fishers that did not respond to this question (over 75 percent), which could mean, that there were few conflicts there was no organization which deals effectively with conflicts in fisheries, or the question was misunderstood by fishers. Field studies revealed that there were conflicts and that the Department of Fisheries and many fisher community organizations were involved in conflict resolution. Therefore, the no response situation may have been due to fishers misunderstanding the question. Table 5.43: Institutions / Organizations involved in conflict resolution - Chilaw (n = fishers 106, women 47) Organization involved in conflict resolution Percentage of fishers reporting Percentage of Women reporting Capacity No Capacity All High Average Low response High Average Low No response 1. Dept. of Fisheries Dept. of Fisheries + Fisheries Societies 3. Fisheries Cooperative Society 4. Rural Fisheries Organization 5. Other Fisheries Society 6. Religious organizations Local informal groups 10. No standard authority Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Approximately half of the women thought that the Department of fisheries in coordination with the fisheries cooperative societies, the Department alone, and the fisheries cooperatives were involved in conflict resolution to a high or moderate (average) extent. More than 20 percent of women reported that the above institutions had high capacity to resolve conflicts, which was quite different to what was reported by the men. These results may give a more realistic picture of the actual situation because women were more involved in the activities of the cooperatives than men. All 141

169 People reaping benefits from fisheries As the benefits from fisheries are distributed among a number of stakeholders, such as equipment owners, crew workers, traders, etc., it is important and interesting to determine how fisheries benefits are distributed among various stakeholder categories. Information on this issue was obtained through a ranking exercise, where ranks from 1-6 (where 1 denoted receiving the most benefit from fisheries) were assigned to different stakeholders according to the proportion of the benefit reaped (see Table 5.44). Table 5.44: People reaping benefits from fisheries - Chilaw (n = fishers 252, women 68) People reaping benefits from fisheries Average ranking given by fishers Average ranking given by women Fishers Boat Owners Crew members Middle-traders Sellers Consumers Fish processors Exporters Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 The results of the ranking exercise with both fishers and women revealed that the highest benefits were reaped by middle-traders, fish sellers and boat owners. Both fishers and women then ranked crew members next. Thereafter fishers, ranking was fishers, fish processors, exporters and consumers, while for women the ranking was, exporters, fish processors, fishers and consumers. The exercise revealed that consumers benefit least from fisheries, probably due to high fish prices. It was interesting to note that the status of fishers was categorized as below that of crew members. The fishers category here included sea-going vessel owners and especially those operating small traditional vessels and boats, while nonsea-going boat owners were mainly those owning large mechanized vessels. Crew members also included those working on large vessels. 5.3 Safety at Sea General information on safety at sea Coastal fishing in Chilaw is mostly done (67 percent) by FRP boats with lengths ranging from feet. Around 60.4 percent of the fishing vessels were engaged in fishing activities of one day or less in duration. Around 20.7 percent of these boats were 6 to 10 years old. Almost all fishing crafts engaged in coastal fishing conduct fishing operations on the continental shelf i.e. fish inshore. As Sri Lanka s continental shelf is narrow (average 22 km) it means that many boats conduct fishing operations close to each other. Generally fishers do not consider fishing as dangerous activities as nearby fishers were always available to help them in an emergency situation. Many fisher respondents (82 percent) were able to swim and some (38 percent) were able to dive. The number of accidents and deaths that had occurred in the past three years was low. As fishers are confident and familiar with their fishing area, 142

170 many of them do not prioritize safety at sea. Hence fishers do not take life jackets, first aid kits, life rings, fire extinguishers and extra fuel, extra food or extra water when going to sea. 80 percent of fishers (80 percent) stated they were unable to make even minor engine repairs at sea. Almost all fishers reported that they can navigate small fishing crafts efficiently, but 85 percent had no navigation competency certificate. Although most fishers had not had any type of fishing training, they reported being skilled in fishing operations. The definition given to the phrase coastal fishers is gradually changing due to new developments in the fisheries sector. Fishers in some areas of Chilaw fishery district use FRP day boats powered by hp out board engines to make their fishing operations more efficient. Using these high powered engines they are able to travel further to sea during their one day fishing operations. As coastal resources are declining, there are many inshore fishers involved in coastal fisheries and because very high prices are paid for good quality fish, some fishers are expanding their daily fishing range to more distant fishing grounds using small boats. Similarly, divers who were previously diving to only shallow depths are now diving deeper in search of catch. Because of these recent developments safety at sea has become an increasingly important issue. When addressing safety at sea issues in coastal fisheries, several related factors should be considered: a) Space limitations in small fishing vessels, b) Short duration of fishing trips, c) Availability of many known fishers in nearby areas engaged in similar types of fishing operations at any given time, d) The helpful nature of fishers, e) Inborn talents of fishers to the sea life, and f) Using the same fishing ground over a long period of time and being familiar with the fishing area Ability to make minor engine repairs at sea The ability to make minor engine repairs at sea in an emergency situation is essential for the safety of all crew members. According to the survey results, the competency of fishers to make minor engine repairs at sea was considered to be very good, good and poor for 6.5, 24.2 and 69.3 percent of fisher respondents respectively (see Table 5.45). Table 5.45: Ability of fishers to make minor engine repairs at sea - Chilaw (n = 87) Level of competency to make minor engine repairs at sea Percentage of fishers Poor 69.3 Good 24.2 Very good 6.5 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Swimming and Diving As many fishers have lived with the sea from their childhood, many of them can swim and dive. According to the survey results, nearly 82 percent of coastal fishers in Chilaw district can swim well or very well. This is a satisfactory situation. In an emergency situation all fishers should be able to swim at least a short distance until they get hold of something safe. The survey revealed that in Chilaw district, 38 percent of fishers were also able to dive. 143

171 Information collected on the number of fishers who can swim and dive is given in Table 5.46 below. Table 5.46: Swimming and diving ability among fishers - Chilaw (swimming n = 221, diving n=102) Swimming ability Percentage of fishers Diving ability Percentage of fishers Poor/impossible 18.2 Poor/ impossible 62.0 Good 50.5 Good 19.5 Very good 31.3 Very good 18.5 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 There are certain fishers who conduct only diving related fishing activities. These fisheries collect lobsters, chank, sea cucumbers and ornamental fishes. Although fishers have stated that they can dive well only 18 percent have undergone proper training on SCUBA diving. Many of the Chilaw divers go to other places such as Kirinda, Trincomallee, Pothuwil, Kalpitiya etc. for diving. According to the interviewed divers, 3 to 7 percent are suffering from different types of illnesses as a result of engaging in their profession Diving related fisheries There are four commercially important coastal fisheries conducted by professional divers. These are chanks, sea cucumbers, lobsters and marine ornamental fishes. Although the divers are regularly engaged in these fisheries, 88 percent have not undertaken any formal diving. Information collected on this issue is given in table Table 5.47: Status of fishers who engage in diving related fishing activities - Chilaw (n=102) Level of the training Percentage Undergone a proper training and engage in diving to catch fish 18.0 Not undergone a proper training but engage in diving to catch fish 82.0 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Navigational certificates According to the survey results, only 17 percent fishers possess navigational certificates. It is a must that at least the skipper of the boat should posses a navigational certificate. In reality, although they do not have certificates, all fishers have the ability to navigate small fishing crafts learned through years of hands-on experience. Table 5.48: Ability of fishers to handle FRP boats successfully - Chilaw (n=42) Ability to navigate a FRP boat successfully Percentage of fishers Poor 10.0 Good 45.0 Very good 45.0 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District,

172 5.3.6 Training on safety at sea According to the survey results, none of the fishers in Chilaw have undergone or received any safety at sea training. Although they were well experienced in navigation and fishing, they may panic in an emergency situation and may forget to attend to the most important things Fishing crafts constructed in an approved boatyard It is important that all fishing crafts are constructed at an approved boat yard. This ensures minimum quality boat building standards. It was noted that soon after Tsunami, several new boat yards emerged to construct small fishing crafts. According to fishers, crafts constructed in some of these boat yards were of poor quality. Although several temporary boat yards were situated in Tsunami affected areas (soon after the Tsunami), later several of the boats constructed in these boat yards were transferred to the other parts of the country. According to the survey results only 177 (65.6 percent) of the boats were constructed in approved boatyards meaning that 34.4 percent of the boats were made by non-approved boat yards Fishing crafts having first aid kits Taking a first aid kit to sea is essential. However according to the baseline survey results only 7 percent of crafts had first aid kits on board. Large numbers of vessels owners do not appreciate the importance of carrying first aid kits on board their vessels SSB radio facility In Chilaw, there are some fishing boats which fish for more than a day in coastal waters. These boats leave Chilaw harbor and conduct long line fishing operations on the Hambantota banks and associated fishing grounds for several days. According to the baseline survey results only 4 fishing vessels had SSB radios. While many fishers fish in nearby areas, it is essential that some communication system is established Global Positioning System A global positioning system (GPS) is important for knowing one s exact position at sea. This is particularly important for multiday fishers. Day fishers using out - board motors that fish on the continental shelf often use hand held GPSs for navigation. According to the survey results, 77 (28.5 percent) of coastal fishers from Chilaw use GPS. When talking to them, it was revealed that they use the GPS primarily to locate submerged rocks and features on the seabed rather than for navigation. It is important to promote the use of GPS by FRP (OB) boat fishers who fish along the continental shelf Use of life jackets and compasses It is also important to promote the use of life jackets by FRP boat fishers who fish along the continental shelf. Other small scale fishers such as traditional and traditional motorized boat users do not have sufficient storage space for life jackets in their fishing vessels as the vessels are too small. Introducing life jackets on very small boats may actually be an occupational hazard for coastal fishers. Life jacket promotions schemes for coastal fisheries should initially focus on FRP boat fishers. They should take life jackets to the sea and can wear them 145

173 as and when needed. According to the baseline survey results, only 34 (12.6 percent) of the fishers use life jackets and only 18 fishers carry compasses on their fishing vessels Use of life rings Having a life ring onboard a fishing craft is as equally important as having a life jacket. It is particularly useful to throw to a fisher who has fallen overboard especially in rough sea. According to baseline survey results only 4 (1.5 percent) of the fishing crafts carry life rings on board Seaworthiness certificate According to survey results, around 50 percent of the boats engaged in coastal fisheries were 06 to 10 years old. Another 10 percent were more than 10 years old. Most of the older boats frequently develop defects at sea and this may lead to serious safety problems. The hulls of the old boats have often been frequently repaired and may not be seaworthy. An annual seaworthy certificate should be promoted for vessels over 10 years of age, though this is currently not a government requirement Stability tests Small fishing boats constructed in approved boat yards usually follow all stability related requirements. However a recent trend has been for some fishers with feet FRP day boats that fish 15 to 20 km away from the coast to carry insulated boxes / ice boxes to minimize post-harvest losses. This situation may lead to stability problems in small boats under rough sea conditions and can be a serious safety threat. Survey results shows that 115 (42.6 percent) of coastal fishing crafts had undergone stability tests Accidents and deaths According to the baseline survey results and focus group discussions, several accidents have taken place at Chilaw during the last three years. Table 5.49 below shows the number of accidents in the last three year period. Table 5.49: Accidents and deaths happened in coastal fisheries during the period Chilaw Year Accidents % Deaths % Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 Most of these accidents took place when fishing crafts were crossing the Chilaw lagoon mouth and adjacent areas. According to survey results, around 25 percent of the fishers use Chilaw lagoon to berth their fishing crafts. The south west monsoon period from June to September is the difficult period for fishers to navigate their small fishing crafts. The mouth of Chilaw lagoon is closing up due to as and bar formation during the monsoon period and is a safety threat for fishers. During this period crossing the lagoon mouth is hazardous for 146

174 small vessels in particular. Similarly, beach landings during the south west monsoon are particularly difficult and hazardous for Chilaw fishers. There number of accidents and fatalities has been increasing in the last three years Communication with other fishing vessels According to the survey results 48.5 percent of Chilaw fishers communicate with other fishing vessels when at sea using mobile phones, and can inform others if they are in difficulty. The coverage rate of mobile phone however needs to be further improved in future Taking extra water, food and fuel In Chilaw 51.1 percent and 63.3 percent of fishers take extra water and extra food respectively on their fishing trips. Many coastal fishers do not take extra fuel on their fishing trips because their crafts are small. Additionally most fishers are very confident and knowledgeable of their fishing area and do not take extra fuel. It is necessary to encourage fishers, with sufficient space on their vessels, to carry extra water, food and fuel for use in emergency situations. The water and fuel containers can also be used as floatation units in an emergency. Safety information collected from fishers during the baseline survey is given in the Table 5.50 below. Table 5.50: Fishers attending to extra safety requirements during their fishing trips - Chilaw Description Percentage Fishers taking extra food (n=171) 63.3 Fishers taking extra water (n=138) 51.1 Fishers taking extra fuel (n=0) 0.0 Fishers listening to radio at sea (n=19) 7.0 Fishers communicating with others (n=131) 48.5 Fishers reporting to radio stations when leaving (n=25) 9.4 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Post-Harvest Fisheries General information on post-harvest quality of fish at Chilaw In the coastal fisheries of Chilaw, the bulk of the production comes from small pelagic fish and their contribution to the total fish production is around 59 percent. This group consists of herrings, sardines, anchovies, scads, mullets, and Carangids etc. Additionally, some commercially important demersal crustaceans such as shrimps, crabs, and lobsters are also an important component of coastal fisheries in Chilaw. According to the statistics available from the Ministry of Fisheries an Aquatic Resources (MFAR), the production of shore seine varieties of Chilaw in the year 2008 was 9,390 tons. The crustacean component consisted of 1,120 tons of shrimp, 430 ton of crabs and 10 tons of lobsters. Production of other coastal miscellaneous groups also contributed another 3,250 tons consisting of mullets, seer fish and Carangids. Tuna and tuna like fishes are also caught by some of the day boats fishing further from the coast and their annual production is around 3,890 tons. When all these values are 147

175 taken into consideration nearly 82.0 percent of the fish production of Chilaw district consists of fishes coming from different inshore fisheries conducted along the continental shelf. In Chilaw, fishing gear diversity is extremely high. This is because the total coastal fish production includes fishing conducted in Chilaw lagoon, as well as in territorial waters and sea area extending up to 20 km from the coast line. Fishing gear types include: trawl nets, gill nets, long lines, cast nets, stake seine nets, traps, crab pots, hand lines etc. Out of all fishing practices, the highest production comes from gill net fishing carried out in both Chilaw lagoon and at sea. The annual total fish production in Chilaw area is around 22,000 tons. Table 5.51 below shows the contribution of different species groups to the total fish production of Chilaw according to the RFLP Sri Lanka baseline survey results. A considerable proportion of the small pelagic catches are sold fresh, but an equal amount goes for dried fish production. Table 5.51: Contribution of different fish species groups to the coastal fish production of Chilaw district (n = 155) Fish group Percentage Large pelagic fishes 19.4 Small pelagic fishes 59.4 Shrimps 18.1 Demersal fish species 3.1 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Fishing gear and capture methods Fishing methods used for harvesting fish has a serious impact on the quality of fish landed. Fish caught by gill nets are usually of inferior quality compared to long line and purse seine caught fish. According to the baseline survey results shown in Table 5.52, 72.9 percent of the coastal fish production comes from gill nets and is not the best product for further postharvest activities including value addition. Table 5.52: Contribution of different fishing gear types to the coastal fish production in Chilaw district (n = 180) Harvesting method - fishing gear Percentage contribution Gill net 76.6 Cast net 6.4 Long line 5.9 Trammel net 5.3 Kattu del 2.7 Hand line - Trawl net - Traps 0.5 Crab pots 1.6 Brush parks 0.6 Purse seine nets - Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District,

176 5.4.3 Fishing duration In the absence of good preservation methods, fishing duration has a serious impact on the quality of fish landed. In Chilaw, most of the fishing trips are restricted to half day or less than one day. According to the survey results shown in Table 5.53, 66.3 percent of the coastal fishing trips in Chilaw are of less than 12 hours duration. As a result fishers try to sell fish their fish fresh fish without any post-harvest practices or additional investment costs. Table 5.53: Duration of fishing trips - Chilaw (n = 270) Duration of fishing trips Percentage Less than half a day 66.3 More than half a day 30.0 Full day 1.1 More than one day 1.5 No response 1.1 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Knowledge on post-harvest practices Fishers were interviewed to understand their knowledge of the importance of following postharvest practices as soon as the product is harvested percent of fishers did not know that post-harvest quality loss starts soon after harvesting. They had very little knowledge on the issue and the level of their knowledge on this issue is given in Table Table 5.54: Knowledge level of fishers on the importance of following post-harvest practices soon after harvesting - Chilaw (n = 270) Knowledge on the importance of following Percentage Post-harvest practices soon after harvesting Well known 6.2 Known 36.4 Did not know 57.4 Further, the fishers were interviewed to understand their knowledge on the importance of following on-board post-harvest practices (after catching fish, until they reach coast) and their knowledge on this issue is given in Table Table 5.55: Knowledge level of fishers on post-harvest practices on-board - Chilaw (n = 63) Knowledge on the importance of Percentage Post-harvest practices onboard Well known 8.5 Known 54.0 Did not know Post-harvest activities done on board In fact, quality loss of fish starts soon after harvesting. As a result, it is essential to apply appropriate quality maintaining practices soon after taking the catch on board. There were 149

177 two main methods practiced by coastal fishers in Chilaw to minimize post-harvest losses on board. They were icing and drying. Table 5.56 shows that only 2.6 percent of fishers ice fish on board their vessels. Table 5.56: Post harvest activities carried out onboard of coastal fishing boats in Chilaw soon after taking the catch onboard (n = 270) Post-harvest practices on board Percentage Drying 1.9 Icing 2.6 Freezing - Salting - No response 95.6 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 The failure to answer this question probably indicates that the fishers did not conduct any onboard post-harvest activity. This is probably mainly due to the short duration of most inshore fishing trips. However even though their fishing trips are short certain post-harvest practices should be introduced depending on the nature of the, a) Harvesting method; b) Product caught; c) Boat size; and d) Duration of the fishing trip. A survey also addressed the post-harvest practices followed by FRP and one day mechanized boat fishers who generally conduct fishing operations at the edge of the continental shelf and who also who take longer time to return home (one day compared to the other coastal fishers. According to Table 5.57, 39.9 percent of day boat fishers use clean water to wash their catch while 22.7 percent iced their catch. Table 5.57: Percentage of FRP and one day mechanized fishers who conduct postharvest on board practices - Chilaw (n = 65) On board post-harvest supportive practice Percentage Icing 22.7 Icing in insulated boxes 11.0 Having ice holds on board 8.6 Packing fish properly in fish boxes 8.0 Use clean water to wash fish 39.9 Follow good sanitary practices 9.2 Having fixed fish holds in fishing crafts 0.6 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Icing and packing of fish onboard A sample of fishers were interviewed to get more information on the type of post-harvest practice they follow when they packing fish in insulated or other ice boxes and fish holds. Table 5.58 shows that 68.6 percent directly ice their catch. 150

178 Table 5.58: Post-harvest practices followed when packing fish in boxes on board - Chilaw (n = 13) Practices followed when packing fish onboard Percentage Gutting and icing 20.2 De-heading and icing 11.2 Direct icing 68.6 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Involvement of women in post-harvest practices It was revealed that women play a major role in marketing aquatic products in Chilaw district. Of the families interviewed in Chilaw, 60 percent of women were involved in some sort of post-harvest activity. They were interviewed to understand their knowledge on the importance of following good post-harvest practices. The results obtained are given in Table More women were slightly more knowledgeable of post-harvest practices than men with only 16.9 percent not knowing of the importance of post-harvest practices compared to 57.4 percent for fishers. Table 5.59: Knowledge of women on post-harvest practices - Chilaw (n = 68) Knowledge of women on post-harvest practices Percentage Well known 19.7 Know 63.4 Did not know 16.9 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Problems faced by women during post-harvest Although 83.1 percent women knew of or knew well about the importance of following good post-harvest practices, they had several problems which constrained them from better postharvest practices, which are given in Table Table 5.60: Post-harvest problems faced by women - Chilaw (n = 27) Post-harvest Problems faced by women Percentage Insufficient storage facilities 28.9 Rain difficulties in drying 11.7 No good market 22.2 Difficulties in getting fish 18.5 Disturbances from other animals 3.7 Lack of money to buy fish 7.4 Lack of salt 3.7 Lack of training 3.7 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 The survey revealed that the major difficulty women face in Chilaw district was insufficient storage facilities. Thereafter other concerns included difficulty in marketing and issues related to obtaining raw product and drying of fish. Insufficient storage facilities was the dominant factor constraining improved post-harvest practices although the majority of women were aware on the importance of following good post-harvest practices to get high quality products. Their houses were small, mostly consisting of one or two rooms and were situated close together with few open areas for storing and drying fish at or near the home. As 151

179 insufficient storage facility was the main issue women faced, additional data was collected on this issue and the results are given in Table The majority (69.0 percent) had very limited storage space available. Table 5.61: Storage facilities available for women in Chilaw (n = 68) Level of the storage facility Percentage Storage facilities insufficient can manage 5.6 Storage facilities low 25.4 Storage facilities very low 69.0 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Post -harvest products Women were interviewed about the types of post-harvest products they were producing with their available facilities and the information is summarized in Table Most (93.8 percent) were producing dried fish. Table 5.62: Types of post-harvest products fisher women were producing Chilaw district (n = 18) Type of product Percentage Dried fish 93.8 Jadi (Fish preserved in Salt and Goraka (Garcenia quaesita)) 2.1 Maldive fish (Umbalakada) 4.2 Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, Requests of the fisher women Chilaw district According to fisher women in Chilaw, they can develop good quality fish products in a better manner if the following issues were addressed. Table 5.63: Requirements of the fisher women in Chilaw (n = 36) Requirement Percentage Provide sufficient storage facility 25.0 Develop a good market 31.3 Provide fish for low prices 31.3 Provide drying and packing material - Provide salt for low prices - Loans and grants 6.3 Provide trainings 6.3 Provide shelters to cover dry fish - Source: Questionnaire Survey, Chilaw District, 2010 According to the above information it is clear that the lack of an attractive market for the post-harvest products and the inability to afford high prices to buy raw product were the main issues. 152

180 Marketing by Fishers in Chilaw Focus Group discussions were held in Chilaw with traders involved in operating at landing sites, selling to local consumers / hinterland intermediaries, local fixed markets, local household sales, assembling for Colombo wholesalers, and assembling for exporters/chain markets. Their supplier base includes operators of beach seines and mechanized boats/single day boats at the landing points. They reported that the supply of small fish and crustacean, and large fish has increased by 25 and 50 percent respectively during the last two decades. Both buying and selling price had increased by over 75 percent for small and large fish, and by over 100 percent for crustaceans during the last two decades. Marketing functions performed by all trade intermediaries include sorting and grading to meet customer requirements for fresh fish, while the hinterland traders additionally preserve product on ice. The wholesalers for the Colombo Wholesale Market were further involved in packaging, improved preservation and transportation as required by their buyers. In addition to the above the wholesalers, exporters/chain markets maintain quality specifications were contractually agreed. Local traders report that at some times about 20 percent of fresh fish was unsold which was then dried and sent to wholesalers for the Colombo Wholesale market in bulk quantities. Local markets finance themselves or borrow from friends/relations and the village money lender for easy accessibility. The main constraints faced by traders included price instability as there were no auctions, some purchasers not being regular, difficulties in obtaining bank finance, fisheries society not accommodating trade loans and the lack of storage facilities for marketable excess. Suggestions for improvement of marketing by traders included the provision of training in market orientation and awareness and training on quality preservation techniques and storage facilities Marketing Channels for Coastal and Lagoon Fishers (Chilaw district) At a focus group discussion meeting with the fish traders of Chilaw, the survey identified the existing marketing channels for coastal and lagoon fishers and these are presented below. 153

181 Landing Point Local Trader Local Assembler Fixed Market Trader Colombo Wholesale Market Super Chain Assembler Processors Exporter Hinterland Trader Regional Retailer Regional Chain Retailer Local Consumer Hinterland Consumer National Consumer External Consumer Figure 5.1: Marketing Channels for Coastal and Lagoon Fishers (Chilaw district) Source: Focus Group Discussions with Traders of Chilaw Livelihoods Enhancement and Diversification The life of the people The life of men; daily routine charts The daily routine chart indicates that fishers spend most of their time in active fishing, and especially fishing at night (from hours to hours). After returning to the landing site with their catch, they attend to diverse work activities on the beach and return home by hours. They may then attend to any household work and then have their lunch. Most fishers usually sleep for about 2 hours after lunch. Fishers then return to the beach and prepare the craft and gear for fishing at night, which might take about 3 hours. They return home by hours spend some time with family, watch television and then have their dinner. Usually fishers sleep from hours to about hours the following day (four hours sleep) and then return to the beach to go fishing (Figure 5.4). 154

182 00.00 hours hours hours hours Figure 5.4. Daily Routine Chart - Men (Chilaw district) Source: Focus Group Discussions with Fishery in Chilaw District,

183 The life of women; daily routine charts hours hours hours hours Figure 5.5: Daily Routine Chart - Women (Chilaw district) Source: Focus Group Discussions with Fisher-folk Chilaw, 2010 Women begin their work early in the morning at around hours. Attending to the children (preparing them to leave for school) and household work consume most of their time. A regular visit to church and watching the television were part of the daily routine of most women. Although, not given as part of the daily routine, women also attend meetings of a variety of societies about 2 to 3 times weekly. Many of these meetings take place on either Mondays or Tuesdays (Figure 5.5). Women in Chilaw were quite active in the field of fisheries, although daily routine chart does not reveal such information, because there were no standard time allocations for such involvements. Many women also wait at the beach to see their husbands leave for fishing and are quite active on the beach when they return with good catches. Some women said, that they return home from the beach around midnight. On the beach, coordination among men and women was quite strong. 156