Let us Proudly Commemorate International Year of Small Scale Fisheries & Aquaculture - 2022

Light coarse drives out fishers from the sea.


In the context of light coasre the most of fishers are not going to sea for fishing because they are failed to catch enough fish to fulfill the needy of heir families as a result of the continuing banned fishing methods (Light coarse and Kandan coarse) in the sea.


Although this is a very famous story of banned fishing method in the southern sea, no any responsible authority has taken an action to prevent this unsustainable fishing in the sea and one day light coarse will drive out all the small scale fishers from the sea when a little greedy crowd exploit the sea. According to a fisherman J. Ariyasena Fernando we met in Beruwal coastal area today.

Normally those who use are using this banned fishing methods start to use this December in each year as it’s their light coarse season. But in this year they have started already light coarse fishing before coming December and small scale fishermen are in a difficult position for catching enough fish to find the cost of maintenance in family. Ariyasena further added.

According to him normally four light coarse boats daily access to the sea from the Beruwala fishing harbour and another 15 LC boats have been anchored in it. These illegal and greedy fishers are using this LC fishing in Ambalangoda, Balapitiya, and Hikkaduwa in southern sea belt after accessing to the sea from Beruwala.

The minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Mr. Felix Perera promised us in the many rounds of discussions held on this matter that he would direct relevant officers to arrest people who use this banned fishing gears in the sea.

But according to the criticism of fishermen, it’s very define fact that the fisheries minister has been failed to do this as former fisheries ministers seated in his seat. Therefore we are willing to convene all fishers who have been fighting for a long time against this issue to meet and having a discussion with President Mahinda Rajapaksha.

“We believe that he will be able to find a pragmatic solution to this matter as he had been a one of the fisheries ministers in Sri Lanka on behalf of fishers” . The last ward of the fisherman we met.