Multiday Boat study

ECONOMICS OF FISHING BY MULTI - DAY CRAFTS OF SRI LANKA

REINCORPFISH “REINCORPORATING THE EXCLUDED: PROVIDING SPACE FOR SMALL-SCALE FISHERS IN THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF FISHERIES OF SOUTH AFRICA AND SOUTH ASIA”

 

Oscar Amarasinghe

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty of Agriculture University of Ruhuna Mapalana, Kamburupitiya SRI LANKA

 

A research project conducted in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam, University of Cape Town, Ulster University, UK, Institute of Development Studies in Chennai, India, Fisheries Management Resource Centre, Trivandrum, National Fisheries Solidarity in Sri Lanka, University of Jaffna and University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka.

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RESEARCH TEAM

Research Officers:

B. H. Nilmini Palika Priyanthi

G. L. Loretta N. Silva

Research   Assistants :

P. H. Menaka Sujith

M. G. Pabitha Waruna Galappaththi

K. M. Wimal Kumara Senadheera

K. G. K. Dilan Udayanga

Maduka Sampath

A.     L. Ananada

B.     G. Gamage

…………………

September 2013

Department of Agricultural Economics

Faculty of Agriculture

University of Ruhuna

Mapalana, Kamburupitiya

SRI LANKA

Chapter 1

Introduction, Objectives and Methodology

1.1 Fisheries in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean southeast of the Indian sub-continent between 6-10° N latitudes and 80-82° E longitudes. The coastline of Sri Lanka is about 1,785 km long and contains several bays and shallow inlets. Since declaration of a 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in 1978, Sri Lanka has had sovereign rights over about 517,000 km² of the ocean. Fishing takes place all around the coast, but primarily within the continental shelf which has a width rarely extending beyond 40 km and averaging 25 km, with a total area of about 30,000 km². This is around 6% of the total area of the EEZ.

Fishing has been the most important economic activity in the coastal areas of the country, and it is estimated that, at present, nearly 220,960 persons are directly employed in the fishing industry, including inland fishing. An additional 275,000 persons are estimated to be employed in several fishery-related economic activities, such as boat building; fish net manufacturing; ice production; processing, trading and marketing of fish; and in providing other services required by the industry, such as transport, repair of engines, and hull work. It is also estimated that the livelihoods of about 2.5 million people are fisheries related (Ministry of Fisheries, 2010). The contribution of fisheries to the Gross National Product has stood around 2% during the past few years. Fish contribute nearly 65 percent of all animal protein consumed in Sri Lanka. In 2010 the annual per capita consumption of seafood was 13.4 kilograms requiring a total supply (production plus imports) of 274,890 Mt. Population growth forecasts indicate that this rate of seafood consumption will require an increase of  274,890 to 458,290 metric tons by 2013(Ministry of Fisheries, op.cit).In recent years, the fisheries sector has also emerged as an important source of foreign exchange through the exports of several items of high-value fish and fishery products, including chilled and frozen tuna, shrimp, lobsters, shark fins, and sea cucumbers.

Fish resources in Sri Lanka are usually categorized into three types.

·         Marine resources

·         Inland (fresh water) resources

·         Brackish water resources

The marine resources in Sri Lanka are divided into two sub-sectors:

Ø    Coastal fishery

Ø    Offshore and deep-sea fishery.

Coastal fishery

 

Fishing activities concentrated within the area of the sea up to 40 km from the coast are considered coastal fishery .On the basis of resource studies carried out in the past, annual sustainable yields have been estimated at 250,000 tons, consisting of 170,000 tons of pelagic species and 80,000 tons of demersal species. (Amarasinghe & De Silva, 2005). The actual coastal fish production in 2010 was 202,420 tons. The coastal fishery is exploited by about. 40,000 small-scale fishing units, ranging from traditional crafts such as outrigger canoe, theppams, wallams, kattumarams, beachseines to small boats with Outboard motor.

Offshore and deep-sea fishery

Offshore and deep sea fisheries extend beyond 40 km up to the edge of the 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).The magnitude of these resources is not known clearly. The actual catch in 2010 amounted to 129,840 tons (Ministry of Fisheries, op.cit). Offshore resources are mainly harvested by large crafts (lengths varying from 28 feet to 45 feet) with inboard engines.

Sri Lanka’s fishing fleet consist of 46,989 crafts of which 46 percent are mechanized. There are 3,858 multiday boats, 953 day boats with inboard engine, 19,709 FRP boats with outboard motor, 1,842 mechanised traditional crafts, 19,485 traditional crafts and 1,142 beachseine crafts.

1.2 Technological Change in Sri Lanka’s fisheries and the emergence of multi-day fishing

1.2.1 The drive towards mehanisation

Sri Lanka, endowed with fisheries resources all around the country, has hundreds of years of experience in harvesting them. The traditional fishermen had mastered the techniques of harvesting fish with the available technology: oru (outrigger canoes), vallam, theppam, beach seines, etc., by the onset of the 2^nd World War. Yet, the post-war period saw high rates of growth of population and increased demand for food, which exerted tremendous pressure on agricultural and fisheries resources. Technological change in agriculture brought about by the introduction of new high-yielding paddy varieties from International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in early 1960’s, enabled Sri Lanka to meet her cereal demand to a considerable extent, which marks the onset of ‘green revolution’ in Sri Lanka. Increased food demands too necessitated higher rates of exploitation of of fish, but the ‘sea-going’ ability of the traditional crafts was too low to bring in sizeable increases in fish landings.

In order to face the new challenges of the post-war period, the state, which assumed a regulatory role during the pre-war period, took an active role; one of reformism, to expand fish production. Many technological innovations have been introduced to fisheries since then, with major emphasis on mechanisation. The state intervention in fisheries was mainly characterised by measures adopted to improve traditional crafts and gear, introduction of new fishing techniques and the development of fisheries infrastructure to facilitate reaping the full benefits of the above measures.

Improvement of Traditional Crafts:-

Due to the high dependency of traditional crafts on weather conditions for sailing, efforts were made to improve the traditional fishing crafts of Sri Lanka; oruwa (outrigger canoe), vallam, cattumaran, etc.  Unless the sea was clam, these crafts could not be taken off for fishing operations and such operations had to coincide with changes in wind movements.

The bimodal pattern of rainfall in Sri Lanka has given rise to two periods of stormy and rainy weather, which in turn influence traditional fishing operations, confining them to the non-monsoonal periods.  While south-west monsoons, starting in May-June and prevail until August-September, confine the traditional fishing operations of the southern and western coasts from September to April, the north-east monsoons starting in October-November and prevailing until February-March, restrict traditional fishing activities of the north and east coasts to the period outside these months.  The monsoon period is called the warakana (in the jargon of fishermen) and the non-monsoon period is called the haraya. One of the objectives of mechanisation of traditional crafts was to circumvent the problem of seasonality fishing operations and to make way for year-round fishing.

Many of the smaller traditional crafts without sail confine their fishing activities to inshore waters within 2 km from the shore due to the difficulty of rowing these crafts to deeper waters, which require a considerable degree of skill and human energy.  Mechanisation of these crafts was thought to give them access to larger and richer fish resources beyond their traditional area of operation. This was done by fixing an outboard engine (8 - 15 HP) to the craft. To make way for the engine, fishermen in the south shave off the pointed stern of the outrigger in a vertical direction and fix it with a plank to support the engine.  Some fishermen fix the outboard engine to the side of the outrigger without shaving off the stern.

Introduction of New Crafts:-

Since late 1930's, experiments have been conducted by the state to introduce suitable mechanised crafts into Sri Lankan fisheries and the results of such experiments led to the introduction of 4 main types of mechanised vessels, which are described below.

a.         Mechanised crafts with outboard engines (the most commonly used craft is the 17-23 feet fibre-glass FRP boat);

b.         One-Day Operating Craft (ODOC) with inboard engine (the 3.5 ton day-boat, 28 – 34 ft. in length) or the 3.5 tonner;

c.         Multi-Day Operating Craft with inboard engine and ice compartment (MDOC) (3.5 - 5.5 ton ‘Tank Boats’, more than 34 ft. in length);

d.         Small Trawlers (10 - 11 ton boats).

Of the crafts mentioned above, the FRP boat (which was introduced in early 1970’s), operates mainly in coastal waters along with traditional crafts and beach seines. The 3.5 ton one-day operating craft (ODOC) is meant to fish in off-shore waters, beyond 40 km from the coast line. This craft was introduced in late 1950’s and soon became popular due to its ability to exploit fish resources that remained under-utilised until then. However, this boat was not equipped with facilities to ice the fish catch and, therefore, the fishermen had to confine their fishing activities to one-day fishing trips. By late 1980’s, fishermen started introducing an ice compartment to the existing fleet of day-boats and subsequently, this modified boat (which was earlier referred to as tank boats) was replaced by the multi-day boat which was slightly larger in length (36 – 40 ft.) and equipped with an ice compartment and a cabin for the crew. The largest of the new crafts was the trawler which was more than 40 ft in length with a 55 hp engine. This craft was equipped with radio communication facilities and fish finders and, it could carry a multitude of gear that facilitated lengthy fishing trips of three weeks to one month. This craft however, did not become very popular among the fishermen in Sri Lanka, due mainly to its high initial cost. As an alternative, Sri Lankan fishermen opted to improve the MDOC by increasing its capacity and horsepower..

Introduction of Improved Gear and New Fishing Techniques:-

Along with the mechanised craft, the nylon gill net was introduced into Sri Lankan fisheries that replaced all traditional hemp and cotton nets.  The use of nets was not much widespread in traditional fisheries, except in the case of beach seining and shallow water fishing where fishermen used small cast nets.  The rod and line was the most common technique employed by traditional crafts.

The nylon gill net has many advantages over the cotton and hemp nets in that it is more durable (lower rate of depreciation than cotton and hemp nets) and lighter in weight.  With the introduction of the nylon net, gill netting became a popular technique of fishing, which led to a considerable increase in catches.  The five-fold increase in fish production from the 1950's until today is the combined result of both the introduction of the nylon net and mechanised crafts.  Today, the nylon net is used by all types of crafts: the mechanised and traditional alike.

Apart from gill net fishing, techniques such as long-lining, trolling, bottom set nets and lines, and purse-seining were also introduced and many of these techniques have become quite popular today.

The Multiday Craft and Multiday Fishing

The continuing pressure to stay at sea for longer periods and to travel further in search of fish is reflected in the continuing increase in the length of multi-day boats.  Local boatyards are now capable of producing boats up to 60 ft in length, which can stay at sea for over two months. Along with the mechanized craft, the nylon gill net was introduced into Sri Lankan fisheries that replaced all traditional hemp and cotton nets. Gill netting became a popular technique of fishing within a short period of time, which led to a considerable increase in catches. The ten-fold increase in fish production from the 1950s until today is the combined result of both the introduction of the nylon net and mechanized craft.

With the exploitation of deep-sea and oceanic fish resources by the multi-day craft, fish landings of the deep-sea and oceanic sub-sector started to increase at a rapid pace, from 8,155 MT in 1989 to 76,500 MT in 1999; more than nine-fold increase within a period of 10 years.

Sri Lanka has a multiday fishing fleet of 3,858 roughly about 8 percent of the total fishing fleet of 46,989 crafts (Ministry of Fisheries, 2012). The multi-day boats in operation today are of several types, which vary according to their length and the degree of sophistication. The length of these craft varies from 28 feet to 55 feet with insulated fish hold, water and fuel tanks, gear hauler, GPS, SSB radio, eco-sounder and fish finder devices (see figure 1). They are powered by inboard engines, the horsepower of which varies from 40 to 120. With increasing length of the craft, the size of its fish hold, the capacity of the fuel tank, water tank, etc. has also increased, enabling the crafts to engage in longer fishing trips in more distant waters. The current tendency is to construct longer and more sophisticated craft of over 40 ft. in length, powered by inboard engines of 110 hp (see photo 1).

Long lining and large-meshed gill netting are the common techniques employed by the multiday crafts.

Figure 1. A detailed diagram of a multiday boat

 

Photo 1. A modern multiday boat (40 ft) (Trincomalee Harbour)

If one defines small-scale fisheries as "all fishing units, whether traditional or modern, which do not demand heavy capital investment and do not require the intervention of industrial concerns or capitalists outside the fishing communities and that, the owners of these craft are personally involved in decision-making in respect of production and marketing", then the present-day deep-sea craft can also be categorized as small-scale fishing units.

A technical assessment of multi-day boat design and construction practices in Sri Lanka by Oeyvind Gulbrandsen (an FAO consultant and naval architect) (1998) has indicated that the present-day craft have an extreme barge like shape to maximize the fish holding capacity and the fuel space for a given length of the craft which may have adverse influence on the crafts stability. This report also indicated that, multi-day boats built by one of the major national boatyards did not meet international standards. According to boat managers, this would have added another 40 per cent to the cost of a hull, putting boats beyond the reach of would be boat owners. With regard to stability of locally built boats, it has been noted that current procedures for incline tests did not take account of the worst possible scenario - where a boat returns to port with a poor catch, empty fuel and water tanks and wet nets piled on top of the deck. Clearly defined rules and regulations for the construction and testing of multi-day boats are needed, Gulbrandsen concludes. However, it should be noted that, incidents of craft toppling over or any accidents at sea have not been reported in both the study areas.

The above assessment report also indicates that many of the multi-day boats currently operating do not meet recognised international safety standards and that they are not equipped with on board safety devices such as life jackets, flares and inflatable rafts. Another factor of significant importance in terms of the stability of >40 ft. long craft is the inadequacy of the fuel tank to carry sufficient fuel for 3-month long fishing trips, which forces the crew to carry additional fuel barrels on the deck or roof of the cabin of the craft, adversely influencing the crafts stability. Usually, the two fuel tanks can carry only up to 17,500 litres of fuel and, according to fishworkers, approximately another 3,500 litres of fuel are required for engagement in such long fishing trips. Fuel in these barrels is used first, so as to ensure the craft’s stability during the rest of the trip. The capacity of the water tank, which holds about 3,500 litres of water, also appears to be adequate only for drinking and cooking purposes. Sea water is normally used for washing and bathing. Fishworkers sometimes complain of skin diseases, caused by the use of sea water for bathing and washing.

Areas of operation and duration of fishing trips

In the early 1990s, these boats began to venture outside Sri Lanka's EEZ, first to fish in the neighboring Indian, Maldivian and British Indian Ocean territorial waters and then in international waters to the northeast (Bay of Bengal) and the northwest (Arabian Sea). The pressure to stay at sea for longer periods and to travel further in search of fish is reflected in the continuing increase in the length of multi-day boats.

Due to its smaller size and the limited facilities available for longer fishing trips, a majority of  32 ft. crafts operates mainly within Sri Lanka’s EEZ, while some 34 crafts also operate beyond the EEZ. Many of the larger crafts 36 feet and above) operate both within and beyond Sri Lanka’s EEZ. Among the larger crafts, those above 36 ft. are generally engaged in fishing operations of 2-4 weeks in duration, while the >40 ft. craft are often engaged in fishing trips exceeding one month. The most popular length categories among the >40 ft. craft are the 42-45 ft. craft. Andaman Islands, Nicarbar Islands, Maldive Islands, Lakshadweep Islands and occasionally, Bangladesh, Thailand, Madagascar and Australian Islands are the areas of operation of most of the larger crafts. Long-lining for tuna and shark (for shark fins) is the major technique employed. Incidences of these craft fishing in very distant waters, such as the Red Sea, have also been reported. During the monsoon period for the western and southern parts of Sri Lanka, which falls in the months of May to September, many crafts in the southern and western coasts usually fish in the EEZ and in international waters and the fishing trips are shorter (less than one month in duration). Large meshed gill netting is the common fishing technique employed during this time of the year. Since facilities for freezing are not available in boats, fish cannot be preserved in the fish hold for a very long time. It appears that the maximum holding period is about one month, if fish is to be kept fresh, although fish is kept in the fish hold for longer periods of time. The tendency is to target tuna and shark (for fins) resources. In the latter case, only the fins are kept in the fish hold while the rest of the body parts are either dried on board or thrown back into the sea.

1.3 The Issue

Sri Lanka has fishing rights over an area of about 517,000km² nearly eight times that of the total land area of the country (the extent of the area within Sri Lanka’s EEZ). Yet multi-day boats tend to fish beyond the EEZ (see figure 2) The question is “why do multi-day fishers illegally fish in others territories, confronted with the risk arrest and detention, and sometimes even physical harassment. The problem of fishermen crossing borders is a serious one, especially fishing into the Indian territory, beyond the Indo-Sri Lankan maritime border, which has now become a serious political issue affecting the relations between the two countries. The number of fishing crafts captured and the number of Sri Lankan crew members detained in foreign jails has increased drastically during the past years (see section 4.3).

                         Figure 2 Areas of Operation by Offshore Crafts

Thus, the issue boils down to, why do multi-day fishers poach? Some argue that multiday boats are compelled to go beyond Sri Lanka’s EEZ and poach in the territories of other countries in order to maintain economic viability- one of ‘necessity’. Others, believe that poaching is done because of the ‘greed’ for higher profits, the reason why the Ministry of Fisheries is planning to introduce the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). The present study attempts at probing into this “NEED or GREED” issue.

1.4 Objectives of the study

This study was undertaken with the following major objectives:

·         To understand the present status of the off-shore fisheries sub sector, in respect of type of crafts, degree of sophistication, area of operation and target catches

·         To find out profitability of multi-day fishing by type of craft and area of operation

·         To understand as to why Multiday Boats poach? Is it because of the ‘Need or the Greed’?

·         To make recommendations on the most profitable craft type and area of operation for multi-day craft

1.5 Methodology

1.5.1  Selection of area for sampling

Out of the 19 fishery harbours in the country, about 14 harbors provide anchorage to off shore crafts (figure 3). Offshore fishery takes place mainly in the Western and the Southern coasts. The following five harbours were purposively selected for this study.

Sample harbours:

1.                   Negombo (South-West)

2.                  Beruwala (West)

3.                  Galle (South)

4.                  Kudawella (South)

5.                  Trincomalee (East)

Negombo

Figure 3. Fisheries Harbours of Sri Lanka

It has been reported that a substantial portion of the large sized offshore boats operate from these harbours and that these boats generally stay out for longer periods of time during a single fishing trip compared to the smaller offshore boats.

1.5.2  Populations and Sample

The target population consists of all multi-day crafts operating from the selected five harbours. About 10-23% of the target population was selected as the sample. The sample size was smaller in Negombo due to the growing unrest in the area due to diesel price hike and the protests waged by the multiday boatmen. The study employed the stratified random proportionate sampling technique. The strata consisted of diverse craft types (lengths varying from 32 feet to above 40 feet)

Table 1. Population and Sample

Harbour	Total No. Of multiday crafts	Sample
Negombo	403	40
Beruwala	375	85
Galle	408	82
Kudawella	304	85
Trincomalee	154	30

 

1.5.3  Data collection

Information was gathered from two sources; primary and secondary.

Primary sources of data

Primary data were collected in the field using two methods.

(1)             Informal methods

Information on Multi-day fishing were obtained from an array of knowledgeable persons like experienced fishers, elderly fishers, fisheries officials etc. through informal discussions.

(2)            Formal methods

This formed the major method of dta collection. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to the owners/skippers of multiday crafts registered in the study areas (lists available at fisheries harbours). The questionnaire elicited information on, length of crafts, area of operation, fish landings by type of fish, costs and returns associated with fishing trips, information on arrests, etc.

Secondary sources of data

Research and survey reports published by NARA and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Development, Journals, Magazines, Newspapers, University Dissertations, Internet, etc. provided a host of information for the study. 

1.5.4  Theoretical concepts

In order to determine the profitability of offshore fisheries, Profitability Criteria, proposed by Amarasinghe (2005) were used in this study, which are given below.

Cost structure

Total costs of ‘production’ or harvesting of fish (TC) can be broken down in to total fixed costs (FC) and total variable costs (VC).

(1)                                                                           TC = Fc + Vc

There are costs a fishing unit has to incur whether or not it engages in fishing, such as, depreciation of crafts and gear, interest payments on loans, etc., and these costs are called fixed costs. They do not vary as the level of output varies. Those costs that do change as the level of output varies are known as variable costs. The operational costs incurred in fishing trips fall into this category. Total variable costs increase as the level of output increases.

Fixed costs (Fc)

Fixed costs associated with fishing can be broken down into, depreciation of craft and gear, interest payments on borrowed capital and imputed interest on own capital.

      (2)                               Fc = d + r k + r k + mc                                      

Where,

                     d = Annual depreciation

                    r  = interest rate on borrowed funds

                    k  = total amount of borrowed funds

                    r  = Imputed interest on own capital

                    k  = Own capital

                    mc = Maintenance cost 

Annual depreciation (d)

(3)                                               d = (P_p – S_y) / P_l

Where,

                         Pp = Purchase price of craft or gear

                         Pl = Produtive life of the asset in years

                         Sy = Salvage value at the end of productive life

Variable Cost (Vc)

Variable costs in fishing can be considered as those operational costs incurred in fishing trips. The total of variable costs incurred in all fishing trips over a period of one year will give the annual variable costs. Variable costs are made up of several components,

   (4)                               Vc = C + C + C                                   

Where,

                       C = Fuel cost; C = Cost of other inputs; C = Cost of labour 

Profits (P)

      (5)                              P = TR - TC                                                        

Where,

                       TR = The monitory value of the fish catches

                       TC = Total cost                    

Total revenue in fisheries amounts to the value of the total fish landings.

      (6)                             TR = Y.p_y

Where,          Y = Total annual fish landings

                       P_y = Unit price of fish  

Distinction can be made between two measures of profits, gross profits and net profits.

       (7)                            P_g  = TR – Vc

      (8)                             P_n = TR - Tc

Where,          P_g = Gross profits

                      P_n = Net profits   

1.5.5  Data Analysis

Data were statistically analyzed using statistical packages such as SAS, Minitab. In addition, simple descriptive statistical tools were also used to analyze quantitative data.

Chapter 2

Characteristics of Multiday Fishing

2.1 Types of Multiday Crafts

The types of Multi-Day crafts, vary according to the length, and the degree of sophistication too increases accordingly. In the study area, there are different types of crafts ranging from 28 feet to 55 feet in length. A larger number of smaller crafts (of 34-36 feet) are found in Gale, while the highest percentage of the larger crafts (over 40 feet in length) were found in Trincomalee. The study sample selected was a stratified, random and proportionate sample, which was representative of the proportion of different types of multiday crafts found in the Sri Lankan fleet.

Table 2. Type of Multiday Crafts (by Length Category) in the study area

	Percentage of Multiday Crafts in each category
Harbour	32-35 feet	36-48 feet	>40 feet
Negombo	35	29	36
Beruwala	36	55	09
Galle	48	30	22
Kudawella	47	47	06
Trincomalee	17	24	59

With increasing length of the craft, the size of its fish hold, the capacity of the fuel tank, water tank, etc. and the presence of the number accessories and their quality too increased, enabling the crafts to engage in longer fishing trips in more distant waters. The current tendency is to construct longer crafts with higher degree of sophistication. However, it is to be noted that standards for boats has not been established so far by the Ministry of Fisheries and, the general practice is for the boat yards to get the approval of the Ministry for the crafts designed and constructed by them.

2.2 Value of Total Assets of Multi-day Crafts

The basic components of a multi-day boat include, the hull, engine, SSB radio, GPS equipment, fish finding devices (rarely present), winch, TV, Hi-Fi, etc. While there are a few well known boat yards in the country which produce multi-day crafts, an innumerable number of smaller yards are now found along the coastal belt of Sri Lanka. The latter were established initially to construct boats for post-Tsunami distribution of crafts undertaken by NGOs, but later were converted into large yards after acquiring the required moulds.

As given in table 3, the cost of a multiday craft with accessories vary from Rs. 4.2 m to Rs. 7.2 m depending on the length of the craft.

Table 3. Value of assets of multiday crafts

Harbour	Value of assets by type of multiday craft (Rs.)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Negombo	4,876,428	5,191,401	7,272,138
Beruwala	5,174,500	5,941,013	6,678,700
Galle	4,887,786	5,383,145	6,174,796
Kudawella	4,978,581	5,719,769	6,078,500
Trincomalee	pn.a.	4,393,250	5,208,333
All harbours	4,979,324	5,325,716	6,282,493

Photo 2. Multiday craft equipped with gear and accessories

2.3 Fishing Gears

Gillnets and long lines are the most dominant type of fishing gear in the offshore fishery. In gillnet operations, the number of net pieces per operation may vary from 30-50 with 5.5” to 6” mesh size (each drift gillnet unit is 1,000 meshes long by 80-120 meshes deep). The number of net units per vessel is limited by the time taken to haul them, since a net, which is too long result in an excessive hauling time and spoilage of the catch in the water. Cost per net piece is around Rs.35, 000. Skipjack tuna, Sail fish and Marlins are the common species caught by gillnetting. Use of gill nets generally reduces the quality of fish causing post harvest losses.

Longlining takes two main forms - tuna longlining and shark longlining. The main line is usually heavy-duty (no. 250-400) nylon monofilament, although tarred 4-6 mm Kuralon may also be used. 10-40 m lengths of no. 200-300 monofilament are used as branch lines, with different lengths of branch line being fixed to the main line on a random basis every 30-50 m. Swivels are used in the main line and on the branch lines to prevent twisting. Standard tuna longline hooks (also called shark hooks in Sri Lanka) are attached to the branch lines via a 2 m length of stainless steel wire. 300 mm diameter buoys are attached to the mainline every 5-6 hooks using 3-4 mm diameter polypropylene buoy lines of about 40 m in length. Multi-day boats use between 600-700 hooks, about 100-200 hooks are set from a 3.5 t boat (see Pushpasooriya & Amarasinghe 2006). Shark longlining targets shark for their fins for the export market and flesh for the local market. Most boats using offshore gill nets also carry shark longlines. Once the fishing grounds are reached the shark longlines are set before the nets, which are then attached to them. Cuttlefish is the pre Tuna long lining is quite popular at present due to the growing demand in Japan and Singapore for tuna fish. Fish of ‘export quality’ are fetch very high prices.

The cost of fishing gear is roughly about a third of the total value of fishing assets (see table 4), while the hull, engine and accessories account for the rest (two thirds of the total value).

Table 4. Total Value of a Multiday Craft with Gear m(example- Beruwala Harbour)

	Total Value of a Multiday Craft with Gear					Total
Length of the craft (ft)	Hull	Engine	Gear	Accessories	Other
34-35	2227778	1052222	1700000	174000	47800	5174500
36-48	2844872	1305890	2166667	220556	43763	5941013
40 feet and above	3105000	1666667	2100000	152600	44428	6678700

2.4 Facilities on Board

With the increase of the length of the craft, facilities in multiday crafts are improved. At present most of the crafts are fully equipped with SSB radio, GPS, Hi Fi, VCD players, TV, etc The SSB radio is primarily used for communication with other boats, which is especially important in finding fishing grounds. The GPS used to find the boat’s position at sea (latitudes and longitudes). Some crafts carry newspapers, magazines and even books for leisure reading. A couple of large crafts, fitted with toilet -‘commode’ was also noticed in Trincomalee.

Generally there are 4 beds in a one craft. Adequate food and portable water are available in the crafts. All most all the crafts carry a first aid box with essential medicine, plasters and etc.

Safety Equipment

All multiday crafts carry first-aid boxes and the required medicine to cope with cuts, bruises, headaches and stomach aches. However, only 30-40 percent of  all categories of multiday crafts carry safety equipment such as life jackets, which is quite surprising.

2.5 Areas of operation and duration of fishing trips

Multi-day crafts usually exploit fish resources in the offshore seas within Sri Lanka’s EEZ, in the international sea and also in the EEZ of other countries.. Areas of operation are generally not pre-determined for a particular boat and sometimes depend on messages received on fish availability from other fishing boats already engaged in fishing. Elderly and experienced fishers are able to predict the most suitable areas of fishing based on their long experience.

The area of operation and duration of fishing trip vary with the length of the craft, available space on the boat for fuel, fish, water and food and, the extent to which the owner/skipper are willing to bear risks. Craft with a higher capacity of fuel, water and fish storage facilities are able to stay at sea for a longer duration rather than a smaller craft (table 5).The crafts which belongs to <34ft category (28-32 ft)  operate mainly within Sri Lanka’s EEZ, while all other craft operate both within and beyond Sri Lanka’s EEZ. The duration of a fishing trip of such boats is less than a week, while boats over 40 ft length are often engaged in fishing trips exceeding three weeks. According to boat owners, many boats of 34 ft and above, fish in the EEZ of a number of other countries. The most popular fishing locations are Arabian sea, Bay of Bengal, other Indian waters, Andaman Islands, Nicorbar Islands, Maldive Islands, Lakshadweep Islands and occasionally, Bangladesh, Madagascar Indonesia and Australian Islands. Although, fishing in others’ territories is illegal, craft operators take the risk of catching fish in other territories for a better catch and higher profits. Resources within the Indian EEZ are the most common targets of the multiday fishers of Sri Lanka.

Field studies in the Trincomalee harbor revealed that some crafts are only involved in fishing in ‘others’ territories. Poaching was the general practice. Skippers of some of these crafts revealed that they have recently found areas around Nagapattinam and Visakhapattinam of the east coast of India to have abundant tuna resources. All their fishing trips during the recent past had been to these areas.

Table 5. Number of trips by multiday crafts

Harbour	Annual number of trips by type of multiday craft (Number)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Negombo	n.a.	16	13
Beruwala	n.a.	11	9
Galle	29	20	16
Kudawella	n.a.	10	9
Trincomalee	n.a.	9	10
All harbours	29	13	11

2.6 Duration of Fishing Trips and Shore Leave

Table 6 reveals that both the duration of a fishing trip and period of rest on shore (shore leave) increase with the length of the craft. Crafts with a higher capacity for fuel storage, water storage and fish storage facilities are able to stay at sea for longer period than small crafts. Availability of fish and weather condition too affect to the duration of fishing trips.  

Table 6. Duration of multiday fishing trips

Harbour	Duration of fishing trips by type of multiday craft (days)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Negombo	-	16	25
Beruwala	7	18	30
Galle	10	16	16
Kudawella	9	17	19
Trincomalee	-	20	29
All harbours	9	17	24

It is evident from table 6 that, smaller crafts (34-35 ft) spend about 9 days at sea. Fishing trips of the 36-38 ft boats is around 17 days, while the larger crafts (40 ft and above) spend about 24 days at sea.  However, it should be mentioned that, when crfats are engaged in fishing in Madagascar, Mauritious, or Andaman Islands, the fishing trips may take 1.5 – 2 months.

Table 7. Duration of shore leave for crew in multiday crafts

Harbour	Duration of shore leave by type of multiday craft (days)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Negombo	n.a.	6.0	5.9
Beruwala	3.4	8.4	8.7
Galle	3.0	6.0	8.0
Kudawella	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
Trincomalee	n.a.	7.3	11.0
All harbours	3.2	6.9	8.4

Shore leave can be defined as the period of rest between two fishing trips. The decision on the time spent on shore often lies with the skipper, who makes this decision after discussing with the owner and communicating with crafts fishing at sea. Duration of shore leave vary from 3.2 (34-35 ft crafts) to 8.4 days (crafts above 40 ft) (table 7). Field studies reval that, when fishing is good there is a tendency for the boat crew members to reduce their shore leave and to get ready for the next fishing trip at the earliest posible time. The period of shore leave is definitely not an indication of the status of labour conditions in multi-day fishing! However, Priyanthi (2011) found that, the degree of satisfaction of crew members on the priod os shore leave decreased with increasing length of the crafts. Degree of satisfaction has been quite low with those engaged in crafts above 40 feet, especially when they are enaged in fishing trips of 1.5- 2 months in duration.

 

2.7 Fish catch by variety

A wide range of species is taken in the offshore fishery. The species taken include several types of tuna, at least eight species of shark, half a dozen billfish varieties, three scombrids collectively referred to here as Spanish mackerels, and various other types. Tunas are the most important species taken in the off-shore fishery with skipjack dominating. Second in order of importance are billfish and sharks, and then other species. Species composition of fish landings in the Beruwala harbour are shown in table 4.4.

Table 8.Common Species of Fish caught by multiday boats

English name	Scientific name
Tunas
Yellowfin tuna	Thunnus albacores
Skipjack tuna	Katsuwonus pelamis
Billfish
Broadbill swordfish	Xiphias gladias
Indo-Pacific sailfish	Istiophorus platypterus
Sharks
Silky shark	Carcharhinus falciformes
Oceanic white-tip shark	Carcharhinus longimanus
Blue shark	Prionace glauca
Scalloped hammerhead shark	Sphyrna lewini
Smooth hammerhead shark	Sphyrna zygaena
Spanish mackerels
Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel	Scomberomorus commerson
Others
Rainbow runner	Elegatis bipinnulatus
Dolphin fish, mahimahi	Coryphaena hippurus
Giant sea pike	Sphyraena jello
Blunt-jawed sea pike	Sphyraena obtusata
Queenfish	Chorinemus sp.
Trevally	Caranx and Carangoides sp.
Flying fish	Hirundichthuys coromandelensis

In respect of species composition of fish landed, tuna landings varied from 11 percent in Beruwala to 45 percent in Negombo (table 9). While Beruwal harbor reported a very high percentage of skip jack tuna landed (77 percent). However, it is to be noted that, composition of catches landed in different harbours vary significantly over the year.  

Table 9. Types of fish landed by multiday boats in different harbours

Harbour	Fish types landed by multiday craft (% of catch)
	Yellow fin Tuna	Skip jack tuna	Other
Negombo	45.0	27.0	38.0
Beruwala	11.0	77.0	12.0
Galle	33.0	23.0	45.0
Kudawella	26.0	52.0	22.0
Trincomalee	38.0	15.0	47.0
All harbours	30.6	38.8	30.6

Average catches landed by a multiday boat on a single trip vary considerably, mainly depending on the size of the vessel and availability of fish. It is evident from table 10, that the average catch vary significantly with the length of the craft. The larger the craft (longer crafts), the larger will be the size of the fish storage tank, fuel tank, water tank, and the number of days at sea. The highest average landing of 3,462 kg of fish has been recorded by the >40 feet crafts, followed by  2,553 kg by the 36-38 ft category and, 1,804 kg by the 34-35 ft category of crafts. However, actual landings reported in different harbours vary significantly from these average figures. For example, average boat landings reported 34-35 ft category in Beruwala were 4,185 kg, while those reported by the >40 ft boats in the same harbor were 5,072 kg.

Table 10. Avrege fish landings by multiday crafts

Harbour	Average fish landings by type of multiday craft (kg per trip)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Negombo	763.0	1570.0	2856.0
Beruwala	2700.0	4185.0	5072.0
Galle	2006.0	1824.0	1859.0
Kudawella	2696.0	3745.0	5233.0
Trincomalee	855.0	1445.0	2291.0
All harbours	1804.0	2553.8	3462.2

Fish landings from different craft categories cannot be compared by harbor. Catches vary (within the same craft category) among harbours significantly, because of variations in resource access. The latter is generally related to the distances from the harbor site, which is closely linked with costs involved in fishing operations. Thus, fishers from different harbours have differential access to particular resource areas, which give rise to variations in fish landings among harbours. 

 

2.8 On board processing into Salt-dried fish

We have already noted that multiday boats generally stay one week to about one month (and some crafts even up to 1.5 – 2 months) at sea. When the duration of the fishing trip gets longer, the quality of the fish, in the fish hold decreases, particularly those caught at the beginning of the fishing trip. Therefore, many boats carry salt and land part of the total fish catch as salt-dried fish. During field studied it was observed that some crafts land up to 10% of the total fish landings as salt-dried fish (ex. Beruwala Harbour). Generally, larger crafts land a higher percentage of dry fish than smaller crafts, since they are forced to salt-dry some of their fish due to their lengthy fishing trips.

Today, dry fish landed by multiday crafts fetch higher prices than dry fish prepared on the beach. Such dry fish is known as ‘Boattu Karawala’ (boat dry fish). It is generally said that that the process of drying fish on the beach, which is generally practiced by many fishing households all around the country, is not ‘hygienic. On the other hand, drying fish on the boat deck is considered as a cleaner and hygienically better method of drying fish. 

 

2.9 Quality of fish landed

Fish landed by multiday crafts vary significantly in respect of quality. The landed fish fetch different prices according to species as well as the quality of fish. Generally, quality can be categorized  into three: good (Grade A), Moderate (Grade B) and Poor (Grade C). Fish deteriorate in quality due to factors such as longer fishing trips, poor fish preservation facilities on board, improper fish handling, lack of technical knowledge of those who handle fish, etc. It is known that gill netting cause severe loss of blood from fish, leading to quality deterioration. Therefore, heavy use of gill nets is also cited by fishers as a cause of low quality fish landed.

Fish quality was more closely studied in the Beruwala harbor during field studies. About 25–30 percent of the catch landed by multiday boats in Beruwala was of poor quality. An earlier study carried out by the University of Ruhuna (Pushpasooriya & Amarasinghe, op.cit) had the following to say in respect of fish quality landed by multiday crafts in Negombo: “When the duration of the fishing trip was less than two weeks, there were no landings of low quality fish. When the trip duration was two to four weeks, a small amount of low quality fish was landed, equivalent to about 1% of the total catch and 3% of the total Skipjack tuna catch. Therefore the multi-day boats that spend less than four weeks at the sea land good quality fresh fish and generally do not land salt dried fish. Boats staying out at sea for over four to six weeks landed the highest amount of low quality Skipjack tuna; equivalent to 8% of the total fish catch and 12% of the total Skipjack tuna catch. When the duration of the fishing trip was more than six weeks and less than eight weeks, poor quality Skipjack tuna made up 5% of the total catch and 10% of the total skipjack tuna catch”.

2.10 Fish marketing and meeting fish health standards

Many owners of multiday crafts possess their own fish vans, which await at the beach when crafts return from fishing. Then, the catches are loaded into vans and transported to large urban markets, like Colombo.  Auctioning is also quite common. After inspecting the quality of fishes, merchants bid for catches.  Some of these merchants are suppliers of fish to fish export firms. Then flesh is generally examined for quality, which is done by taking flesh samples from each fish. Bidding is done separately for different quality fish. Rarely, catches may be handed over to ‘known merchants’ on personal trust, and only the weight of the catch is recorded. The craft owner is paid according to the price paid for the fish the at wholesale markets.

The government set up a fish product quality control division in the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in 1999, to control quality and safety standards of fish products that are produced for export (Amarasighe, 2003). In accordance with the conditions laid down by the European Commission with regards to import of fisheries products from third countries, the Quality Control Unit is expected to carry out activities, such as, approval of fish processing establishments; issuing of operating licenses to establishments to process fish for export; inspecting fish processing establishments; inspecting landing sites; inspecting fishing boats; inspecting transportation of fish (raw materials) from the landing sites to the processing plants; issuing of health certificates in respect of each consignment of fish/fishery products for export; approving laboratories used for testing samples of products, water, ice, etc..; taking the official samples and carry out testing in the approved laboratories; taking remedial action whenever processing establishments, boats and landing sites do not comply with requirements coming under the regulation; taking necessary action on complaints received from importing countries; conduct awareness programs for the industry in quality and safety; and, monitoring of residues in farmed shrimps, etc.

However, Haripriya (2006) reported that, there was hardly any monitoring of quality standards at the ‘craft level’ and that boat crew workers only rarely cooperated in meeting with the requirements of the Health Certification program. The same study reported that harbours failed to maintain the levels of sanitation expected by the health certification programme.

Chapter 3

Profitability of Multiday Fishing

3.1 Costs of Multiday Fishing

3.1.1 Variable Costs:

Variable costs in fishing can be considered as those operational costs incurred in fishing trips. As explained under theoretical concepts, the total variable costs comprise of three major cost items: Labor cost or crew share (C_L), cost of fuel (C_f) and other costs (C_o). The latter include cost of food, ice, medicine, water and etc. There are many cost items related to craft operations other than the major cost items, such as, ice maintenance, bonuses, license charges, handling charges and payments for watchers when boats are at anchorage, cost of transport of the catch, gate charges, commission paid to various individuals, etc.

Table 11 gives a breakdown of different cost items in the total variable cost (or operational costs), which is given as percentages. Labor cost accounts for the highest share of the variable cost (about 50-63%). Fuel too accounts for a considerable portion of the variable cost (21 - 29%). It is to be noted that, the price of fuel has been increasing continuously, which has significantly pushed up craft operational expenditure. Food carried on board accounts for about 7-11% of the total variable cost. Quite interestingly it was noted that, food carried on board consisted of a number of very expensive food items, such as sausages, cheese, Nescafe, coca cola, etc.

Table 11. Costs as a percentage of variable costs in craft operations

Source (field studies, Beruwala Harbour)

As shown in table 12, variable costs increase with the length of the crafts (and the duration of fishing trips). Evidently, there is a significant variation among variable costs within a particular boat category among different harbours, which is due to high variability in fishing: fishing location, duration of fishing trip, etc.

Table 12. Variable costs of fishing by multiday crafts

Harbour	Average Variable costs per trip by type of multiday craft (Rs. per trip)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Negombo	258,943	350,110	629,457
Beruwala	517,795	786,434	931,415
Galle	210,235	285,345	310,344
Kudawella	451,269	660,447	990,116
Trincomalee	274,513	293,163	578,142
All harbours	342,551	475,100	687,895

Variable costs of 34-35 ft crafts vary from Rs. 258,943 (Negombo) to Rs. 517,795 (Beruwala), that of 36-38 crafts from Rs. 293,163 ( Trincomalee) to Rs. 786,434 (Beruwala), while variable costs vary from Rs. 310,344 (Galle) to Rs. 990,116 (Kudawella) in the above 40 ft category. On an average, a fishing trip of a 34-35 ft craft costs about Rs. 343,000, that of a 36-38 craft about Rs. 475,000 and that of a larger craft (above 40 ft) about Rs. 690,000. It is to be noted that this is a huge sum of money the craft owners have to spend in putting his boat into sea.

3.1.2 Fixed Costs

There are costs a fishing unit has to incur whether or not it engages in fishing, which are called fixed costs. They do not vary along with the level of the output. Fixed costs associated with fishing can be broken down into, depreciation of crafts and gear, interest payments on borrowed capital and imputed interest on own capital (refer methodology section,p.42).

According the equation (3) under methodology: annual depreciation was calculated for Hull, Engine, Gear and for Accessories (refer methodology section,p.43 ) using the straight line depreciation method. .In this study the interest paid by commercial banks on savings deposits was taken as imputed interest rate on own capital, assuming that the next best alternative is investment in bank saving deposits. Current interest rate on savings is about 10%.  In respect of borrowed capital interest rates varied widely, because fishers have borrowed from bank as well as a wide range of informal lending sources. Table 13 gives the annual fixed costs of multiday crafts, as calculated employing the above methods.

Table 13. Annual fixed costs of multiday crafts

Harbour	Average annual fixed costs by type of multiday craft (Rs.)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Negombo	548,007	590,798	971,850
Beruwala	581,878	700,483	1,065,567
Galle	878,161	991,752	1,111,644
Kudawella	522,437	680,693	1,015,656
Trincomalee	496,867	626,587	1,059,461
All harbours	605,470	718,062	1,044,836

Since total value of assets increase with craft length, fixed costs too increase with the length of the craft. As shown in table 13, the average fixed costs were Rs. 605,470 for the 34-35 craft category, Rs. 718,062 for the 36-38 crafts and Rs. 1,044,836 for the large crafts above 40 ft.

3.1.3. Maintenance Costs

Annual maintenance costs consist of insurance payments, servicing of the engine, caretaker fees, harbour fee (for anchorage) and net mending (repair) costs. Figure ..shows the size of each of the above cost component in the total cost of maintaining a multiday craft.

Nearly half of the annual maintenance cost cosnist of insurance payments, which vary significantly from craft to craft, depending on the total sum for which the craft owner has insured the craft (because owners do not insure the craft always for its full value). The other major costs are the caretaker fees (when the craft is in anchorage at harbour a person is paid to look after it), harbour fee and the cost of serving the engine.

Figure. 4. Components of Annual  Maintenance Cost of Multiday Crafts

As shown in table 14, average annual maintenance costs do not vary significantly among craft gategories. Although, the absolute costs vary among individual crafts cosniderably and among harbours, the average annual costs of all types of crafts range from Rs. 305,000 to Rs, 370,000.

Table 14. Average annual maintenance costs

Harbour	Average annual maintenance costs by type of multiday craft (Rs.)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Negombo	160,443	197,800	341,790
Beruwala	458,366	467,617	581,380
Galle	232,622	199,392	197,362
Kudawella	414,312	419,263	387,950
Trincomalee	261,230	318,400	341,680
All harbours	305,394	320,494	370,033

 

3.2  Fish landings and Fishing Revenues

3.2.1 Fish Landings

Apart from all uncertainties associated with fishing, the quantity of fish landed by a multiday craft vary significantly among individual crafts, due to variation in fishing location, fish availability, and duration of fishing trip. Generally, a significant variation among the landings of different craft categories was observed.

Table 15 gives average fish landings of different craft categories. At the outset, it should be noted that, field studies in the 5 harbours were carried out during different periods, which introduce a considerable amount of variability into the information obtained on different aspects of fishing. For example, studies in Negombo were affected by the diesel price hike, which prevented some fishers to engage in protests (rather than fishing). During field studies in Trincomalee, most of the owners of multiday crafts decided not to put their boats to sea because of the fear of smuggling their crafts to transport refugees to Australia, which started to take place on a large scale in Sri Lanka. Therefore, size variation among fish landings by multiday crafts in different harbours does reflect the impact of these situations on fishing.

Table 15. Average fish landings by multiday crafts

Harbour	Average fish landings by type of multiday craft (kg per trip)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Negombo	763.0	1570.0	2856.0
Beruwala	2700.0	4185.0	5072.0
Galle	2006.0	1824.0	1859.0
Kudawella	2696.0	3745.0	5233.0
Trincomalee	855.0	1445.0	2291.0
All harbours	1804.0	2553.8	3462.2

The average fish landings increase with the length of the crafts, which is of course due to the variation in the duration of fishing trip, location, and the fish storage capacity. Landings varied from 1804 kgs for 34-35 ft crafts, 2554 kgs for 36-38 ft crafts and 3462 for the large >40 ft category. During the field studies, Kudawella and Beruwala harbours recorded the highest fish landings by multiday crafts, which ranged from 2,700 kgs (the smaller crafts) to 5,233 kgs (by large crafts).

3.2.2 Revenue

Revenue from fishing is simply the monetary value of catches (catch x price of fish).  Fishing revenue of a particular catch landed by a craft was affected by the quality of fish in that catch and the prices fetched by different quality fish. Quite often, for large fish species such as tuna, shark, marlin, the catch was divided into grades (depending on quality) such as A, B and C and, different grades were paid different prices. Good quality tuna which could be exported always fetched very high prices.

Table 16 gives the average revenue obtained from a fishing trip multiday crafts. As in the case of fish landings, a significant variation in revenues was observed among individual crafts, among craft categories and among harbours.

Table 16. Average revenue obtained from a fishing trip

Harbour	Average Revenues per trip by type of multiday craft (Rs.)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Negombo	599,385	885,000	1,138,673
Beruwala	827,680	1,186,472	1,686,666
Galle	617,291	612,572	650,000
Kudawella	902,538	1,121,217	1,323,026
Trincomalee	355,000	506,250	801,851
All harbours	660,379	862,302	1,120,043

Average revnues varied from Rs. 660,379 (for smaller crafts) to Rs. 1,120,043 (large crafts). Individual data revealed a signifiant variation among revenues obtained by different crafts. In the 34-35 ft category, it varied from Rs. 150,000 in Kudawella harbour, to Rs, 1,760,000 in Galle. In the 36-38 category, reveunes varied from Rs. 241,000 (in Negombo) to 1,190,000 (in Beruwala). Revenues varied in the above 40 ft category, from Rs. 271,000 in Galle, to Rs. 2,400,000 in Kudawella. The maximum values are of significant importance because these values are well noted by fishers in the community, based on which some of them might make future investment decisions. This is a common problem in fisheries, where some investment decisions are likely to be based on ‘over-optimistic forecasts’.

3.3 Profitability

3.3.1 Gross profits

A fishing unit obtaining positive gross profits is covering up all its variable costs and, therefore, it is in a position to continue its fishing operations in the short run. As it is evident from table 17, all the craft categories obtain positive gross profits, and therefore, they are all viable in short run. Last row of the table gives gross profits earned by multiday boats, excluding data from Trincomalee harbor because, the number of fishing trips of crafts as drastically reduced during the study period for fear of smuggling of crafts to transport refugees to Australia.

Table 17. Gross Profits earned by multiday crafts

Harbour	Gross profits by type of multiday craft (Rs.)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Negombo	2,426,914.51	3,928,479.08	2,318,864.87
Beruwala	2,779,932.25	2,952,707.90	3,381,550.70
Galle	2,885,001.50	2,841,910.11	2,256,027.29
Kudawella	4,023,350.85	3,607,870.22	2,142,168.40
Trincomalee	125,603.96	764,617.09	816,575.03
All harbours	2,448,161	2,819,117	2,183,037
All harbours excluding Trincomalee	3,028,780	3,332,742	2,524,653

Gross profits (excluding data from Trincomalee harbor) obtained by different crafts were Rs. 3,028,780 for the 34-35 ft category, Rs. 3,332,742 for the 36-38 ft category and Rs. 2,524,653 for the >40 ft category. Quite surprisingly, average gross profits obtained by the 36-38 crafts were higher than those obtained by the ‘above 40 ft’ category (see figure 5). In fact, gross profits obtained by the larger craft category were the lowest recorded by all craft categories. This is a point to which we need to pay more closer attention.

It is however to be noted that, in respect of data for individual hatbours, the above picture is strongly evident only in Negombo, which had a strong influence on the average values for all harbours. In Beruwala (and Trincomalee), gross profits have increased along with craft length, where as they have fallen with craft length in Galle. Let us move further into the analysis of net profits, before we make further deductions from our results.

3.3.2 Net Profits

Net profits are obtained by deducting from gross profits the annual fixed costs. A fishing unit will be viable in the ‘long run’ only if its earnings cover both variable and fixed costs (total costs). Table 18 gives the annual net profits of multiday crafts, by length category of crafts. 

All craft categories generate net profits, indicating their long term viability, except those crafts in the Trincomalee harbor. The latter can be attributed to the fact that many crafts in Trincomalee did not engage fishing during the study period because of the fear of smuggling crafts to transport refugees to Australia. 

On average terms, net profits increased up to the length category of 36-38 ft (recording the highest net profits) and then they fell with increasing craft length. In fact, the largest crafts (above 40 ft.) recorded the lowest net profits. The latter could be attributed to the heavy investment on these crafts, and therefore, the high annual fixed costs. This pattern was strongly evident in Negombo (which had a strong influence on the average figures). However, individual craft data revealed that more than 90 percent of the crafts in 34-35 ft category in Negombo belonged to 34 feet crafts, while in the above 40 ft category, those crafts landing higher catches were those belonging to the 40-42 feet category. Although the net profits earned are negative, Trincomalee too reveals the same pattern. In absolute terms, the  34-35 ft boats earned average net profits (excluding data from Trincomalee harbor) amounting to Rs. 1.8 million while the 36-38 category earned Rs. 1.9 million. The >40 ft crafts earned an average net profit of Rs. 0.64 million, which was quite low compared to the earnings of smaller craft categories.

Table 18. Net profits earned by multiday crafts

Harbour	Net profits by type of multiday craft (Rs.)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Negombo	1,320,494.27	2,652,967.33	350,386.45
Beruwala	1,551,241.75	1,509,598.28	1,481,146.20
Galle	1,395,867.65	1,177,265.28	372,533.52
Kudawella	2,878,591.22	2,212,206.60	366,700.40
Trincomalee	(980,816.28)	(510,894.66)	(1,151,903.39)
All harbours	1,233,076	1,408,229	283,773
All harbours excluding Trincomalee	1,786,549	1,888,009	642,692

(given in parentheses are negative values)

Data for individual harbours reveal that, in  Beruwala, Galle and Kudawella, Net profits are highest among the 34-35 ft crafts, and fall with increasing craft length (see also figure 6). This prompted us to go back to individual data obtained for crafts, it was evident from individual data that the more relevant length category falling into the ‘highest net profits’ category were the crafts belonging to 35 – 38 ft. However, we can safely conclude that the highest profits are obtained by crafts belonging to 34-38 feet category and that, profits fall thereafter with increasing length of craft.

Since management functions are generally carried out by the skipper of the craft, who is paid an additional share (5% from owner share), and most of the multiday craft owners and their family members are not involved in craft operations, net profits can be considered as the net income of the owner-investor. Therefore, the average monthly income of a multiday craft owner would be 1/12^th of the annual net profits, which  work out to be Rs. 148,879 for owners of 34-35 ft crafts, Rs. 157,334 for owners of 36-38 ft crafts and, Rs. 53,558 for owners of crafts above 40 ft. This can be compared with the mean monthly income of an average Sri Lankan household, which is Rs. 36,451. In fact, the average monthly incomes of an owner of a multiday craft belonging to the 34-38 ft. category is extremely high, comparable to the salary of a professor employed in Sri Lankan national universities, where as the average monthly income of a owner of a large craft (above 40 ft category) is only Rs. 17,000 higher than the monthly household income of an average Sri Lankan. It is to be noted that the ‘apparent income’ is equal to gross profits (fishing income less operational expenditure), which is not significantly different across craft categories (varying from Rs. 2.5 m to Rs. 3.3 m). Thus all craft owners live well in the short run. However, unless they pay off their fixed costs (interest in loans, depreciation, etc.), they will be unable to survive in the long run.

Chapter 4

The Poaching Issue: Need or Greed?

4.1 Extent of Poaching

Poaching is a common phenomena associated with multiday fishing. Almost every week or so, there are reports of incidences of arrests of multiday crafts for poaching in others’ territories. Field studies also revealed that many multiday bots surveyed were engaged extensively in poaching. However, information on poaching was not willingly revealed by craft owners. Such information was easily obtained when the respondent felt safe and easy with the investigator. Therefore, information obtained on poaching was not complete in certain harbours, except in Negombo and Kudawella, where such information could be obtained more easily and the sources could be considered as more ‘reliable’.

Tables 19 and 20 give information on area of operation of diverse fishing crafts in Negombo and Kudawella and the average revues earned from fishing trips. It is evident that about half of all crafts belonging to the 34-35 ft category fish within Sri Lanka’s EEZ, in Kudawella, while in Negombo only 21 percent of such crafts fish within Sri Lanka’s EEZ. Among the 36-38 ft boats, approximately half of them fish within Sri Lanks’s EEZ in both harbours. In the >40 ft category, only 21 percent of such crafts fish in Sri Lanka’s waters in Negombo, while Kudawella reports double this number. Information reveals that poaching is generally practiced by all multiday crafts to varying extent, irrespective of the length category. What was evident in Negombo, compared to Kudawella is more easier access to good fishing grounds in the Indian ocean, as it is evident from the very high percentage of all crafts engaged in Indian waters (79 percent of 34-35 ft crafts, 50 percent of all 36-38 ft crafts and 62 percent of all >40 ft crafts).

The large diversity of fishing locations is found in Kudawella, where poaching sites included Maldive Islands (22-30 percent of all crafts), and Andaman Islands (19 percent of 34-35 crafts).

Table 19. Area of operation of crafts and average revenues per fishing trip (Negombo)

Harbour	Percentage of multiday crafts operating & Average Revenue per trip (within brackets)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Sri Lankan waters (near Mannar)	21 (Rs. 560,417)	50 (Rs. 911,666)	21 (Rs. 1,482,750)
Indian Waters	79 (Rs. 566,422)	50 (Rs. 991,666)	62 (Rs. 1,016,812)
Maldives	0	0	8 (Rs. 1,045,000)
Andaman Islands	0	0	9 (Rs. 1,486,667)
Break Even Revenue	463,414	663,001	972,415

Table 20. Area of operation of crafts and average revenues per fishing trip (Kudawella)

Harbour	Percentage of multiday crafts operating & Average Revenue per trip (within brackets)
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above
Sri Lankan Waters	52 (Rs. 661,781)	43 (Rs. 886,500)	42 (Rs. 1,230,625)
Indian Waters	26 (Rs. 1,337,143)	28 (Rs. 1,497,000)	48 (Rs. 1,648,750)
Maldives	22 (Rs. 1,147,857)	30 (Rs. 1,005,429)	26 (Rs. 1,080,000)
Andaman Islands	19 (Rs. 1,528,333)	0	0
Nicorbar Islands	0	4 (n.a.)	19 (n.a.)
Madagascar	3 (n.a.)	4 (Rs. 2,400,000)	0
Lakshadweep		4 (n.a.)	0
Break Even Revenue	505,690	734,435	1,117,073

4.2 Need or Greed?

In order to understand as to why multiday boats poach (or to answer the need or greed question) the Break Even Revenue (BER) was first calculated for each craft category, which was then compared with the average revenues obtained by fishing within Sri Lanka’s EEZ and outside. BER is the revenue that is just sufficient to cover the total cost of fishing operations (which is equal to the total of variable and fixed cost of craft operations). The BER per fishing trip for different craft types is also given in tables 19 and 20.

The BER of all categories (as given in tables 19 and 20) could be obtained even of these operate within Sri Lanka’s EEZ. Therefore, if these crafts poach, then it is due to the ‘greed’ (for higher profits) rather than the ‘need’. Such greed is better satisfied by poaching in Indian waters, and particularly, by fishing around Andaman Islands (see tables 19 and 20). Compared to the smaller craft categories, the BER of the above 40 ft category is quite close to the average revenues earned by fishing within Sri Lankan’s EEZ, which may prompt them to poach, than in the case of smaller craft categories.  

It is to be noted that, there is significant variation among catches and income among individual fishing units within the same length category, which may be due to the variations in ‘catchability’ of that fishing unit, which is a function of the type and size of the gear employed, ability to locate fish, the skill of the crew, etc. (see table 21 and 22).  

Table 21. Variation in Fishing Revenues between individual fishing units (Negombo).

Revenue per trip (value of fish landings)	Revenues Reported (Rs. per fishing trip)
	32-35	36-38	>40
Average (Rs.)	599,385	951,667	1,155,404
Maximum (Rs.)	880,000	1,380,000	2,405,000
Minimum (Rs.)	270,000	585,000	310,000
Standard Deviation (Rs.)	200,301	315,890	433,346

Table 21. Variation in Fishing Revenues between individual fishing units (Kudawella).

Revenue per trip (value of fish landings)	Revenues Reported (Rs. per fishing trip)
	32-35	36-38	>40
Average (Rs.)	937,855	1,121,217	1,323,026
Maximum (Rs.)	2,100,000	2,400,000	2,480,000
Minimum (Rs.)	150,000	450,000	500,000
Standard Deviation (Rs.)	609,708	511,783	659,721

Fishing units whose ‘catchability coefficient’ is smaller, may be earning revenues below the BER, and may be compelled to poach to remain economically viable.

4.3 Arrests for poaching

Those multiday crafts which poach in others’ territories, do so with the risk of arrest, although this risk appears to be low according to fishers. Information obtained during field studies (see table 22) revealed that, percentage of arrest among multiday crafts belonging to the above 40 ft category is the highest (10 percent of the crafts in this category in Galle, Kudawella and Trincomalee harbours, reported arrest during the past 5 years). Yet, this picture is blurred by the fact that, 17 percent of the crafts belonging to the 36-38 ft category, in the Kudawella harbor, reported arrest during the past 5 years, although only 28 percent of these crafts reported poaching in Indian waters.

Table 22.  Incidence of arrest for poaching by multiday crafts

Harbour	Percentage of multiday crafts reporting arrest
	34-35 ft	36-38 ft	40 ft and above	All crafts
Negombo	0%	0%	0%	0%
Beruwala	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	3%
Galle	0%	0%	10%	7%
Kudawella	0%	17%	10%	7%
Trincomalee	0%	0%	10%	5%

Information obtained from official sources (Ministry of Fisheries, 2013) revel that there has been a steady increase in the number of vessels and fishers arrested from 2006 to 2009 (24 vessels and 118 fishermen in 2006 to 138 vessels and 743 fishermen in 2009). In respect of vessels and fishers arrested for poaching in Indian territory, 22 boats and 110 fishermen were arrested in 2006 and 128 vessels and 693 fishermen were arrested in 2009 (see table 23).

Table 23. Incidences of arrest - Official data

Area of arrest	2006		2007		2008		2009
	Boats	Fishers	Boats	Fishers	Boats	Fishers	Boats	Fishers
India	22	110	24	119	121	569	128	693
Myanmar	01	02					01	05
Maldives	01	06	04	18	01	04	01	05
Bangladesh					01	05	03	15
Egypt					01	04
Diego Diegogarcia					02	11	05	25
	24	118	28	137	126	593	138	743

Table 24. Number of vessels and fishermen arrested in Indian territory

Official data on arrests by Indian authorities reveal a significant decline in the number of vessels and fishermen arrested, from 2009 to 2012 (from  128 vessels and 693 fishermen in 2009 to 24 vessels and 120 fishermen in 2012). However, there appears to be an increase in the number of arrests in the year 2013 (because for the first seven months of the year, 21 vessels and 109 fishermen have been arrested) (see also figure 7). Extrapolation of data indicate that, this will around 48 vessels by the end of the year (see also table 25).

From available information it is difficult to give the exact reasons for such a decline. However, one amy assume that, the cessation of war and the resultant peace process has allowed fishermen to fish more freely in Sri Lankan waters (without the risk of being attacked by Tamil Tigers). Probably, the Indian Coast Guard is also more vigilant and alert today and the risk of arrest has increased. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that poaching is on the decline.

The agony of arrest

Arrested fishers and their families undergo tremendous suffering. Even when they are informed of the arrest, not all boat owners inform the families of the affected crew. Thus, it might take a long time before families become aware of the incidence and the fate of their dear ones. In most cases, no assistance is provided by boat owners to the affected families. The government sometimes provides assistance, which is quite irregular and there are no standard procedures.  The wives of the affected fishers often have to cope with crises of subsistence and they are subject to harassment within the family circle and even outside. There are various stories of pain and agony. “The stories of the fisherfolk are indescribably tragic – and on several levels. They are tragic, of course because their livelihood is converted into a crime. They are harassed by coastguards and jail authorities, weakened economically and excluded from their only source of livelihood. But it is also tragic in other, subtle ways. There is, for instance, the toll on their families left behind.

Table 25 provide recent information on fishermen under detention in Indian prisons during the 2013. It is quite evident that period of detention can extend from 14 days to about 70 days.

.

Table 25. Official information on arrests and detention of fishers by Indian authorities-2013

4.4 Profitability and increasing craft length

Results of the present study reveal that profitability of fishing operations by multiday crafts decrease after the length category of 38 feet. It appears therefore that, it is irrational for fishers to construct crafts exceeding 38 feet, although the current tendency is to construct longer crafts. Of course the catches landed by larger crafts (above 40 ft category) are and annual revenues are higher than smaller crafts (less than 40 ft) (see figure 8).

In respect of profitability, what is more visible are the Catches and Revenues (the earnings). When the revenues are higher, the crew payments too are higher because they are paid a share of the revenue. Comparison of catches and revenues are generally made on the beach, which is made on the basis of   ‘returns to a fishing trip’. If such yard sticks are used, the >40 ft category is always doing better than the smaller crafts. Even if net returns per fishing trip is considered (revenue – Cost), the >40 ft category is marginally above the 36-38 category. Therefore, to the naked eye, the larger crafts appear to be doing better than the smaller crafts, which explains the tendency to go for longer crafts.

It is evident from figure 8 that average annual  revenues too increase with the length of the craft. But the fact remains that, such higher revenues are obtained by the larger crafts at a higher cost (both variable and fixed) and, they are engaged in a smaller number of fishing trips per year.  Therefore, they are earning less gross and net profits than the smaller crafts. The point is that, this is not quite visible to an observer. The large number of multiday crafts that had been abandoned in a number of harbours (see photo 3.1 & 3.2) provide proof of low net profits earned by these crafts (therefore lacking long term viability).

Photo 3.1 and 3.2. Large Multiday Boats abandoned in the Trincomalee Harbour

Chapter 5

Conclusions and Policy Implications

5.1 Summary and Conclusions

Sri Lanka moved into offshore fisheries in the latter part of 1950’s with the introduction of the planked 3.5 ton day boat, 28 ft in length, with inboard engine, which engaged in fishing operations beyond the continental shelf in offshore waters. However, due to the fact that these crafts lacked fish preservation facilities they engaged only in one day fishing trips. Efforts made to insert a fibre glass tank into the deck of these crafts in 1980’s, which could hold fish in ice, marks the emergence of multiday fishing in Sri Lanka.

Fibre Glass crafts with built in fish hold and fuel tank with a cabin to provide accommodation for crew, were constructed in early 1990’s, marking the birth of the multiday craft. The earlier crafts were smaller, length varying from 32-34 feet, exploiting the sea resources up to the edge of Sri Lanka’s EEZ. These crafts were equipped with SSB radio for effective communication and GPS to find their position in the sea.  However, over time, boat yards started constructing longer crafts with higher degree of sophistication. These crafts started to fish beyond Sri Lanka’s EEZ and venturing into the territories of India, Maldives, Madagascar, etc. and poaching by these crafts became a common practice. Today, the tendency is to construct large crafts, some crafts reaching lengths beyond 50 ft. powered by engines of 110 hp or more.

Arrests of multiday crafts for poaching in Indian waters and in other territories is common and became a serious political, economic and social issue. While the Ministry of Fisheries had to spend time, effort and money in getting the arrested boats and fishers released, the human suffering was tremendous. In dealing with the issue of poaching the Ministry of Fisheries is now planning to introduce a VMS (Vessel Monitoring System). The other side of the coin is that, poaching in Indian waters by the Sri Lankan multiday crafts is also keeping the issue Indian Trawler intrusion issue in Palk Bay on the balance, because both countries have their ‘bad boys’ poaching in each others’ territories. This prevents Sri Lanka, in pointing its finger at Tamil Nadu, asking its trawler fleet not to cross the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).

The present study was undertaken in the above context. While this study attempted at finding out the profitability of fishing operations by multiday crafts, it also attempted at addressing the issue of poaching by these crafts. An important issue that this study attempted at addressing was, why Sri Lankan multiday crafts poach: was it due to the need to remain economically viable, or the greed for higher profits. Addressing this issue was considered important by the REINCORPFISH project, because the study was expected to provide important inputs, especially into the possibility of introducing ‘deep sea fishing’ to the state of Tamil Nadu, as an alternative to trawling, shifting fishing effort from heavily exploited Palk Bay area, into the Indian deep seas.

Results of the study revealed that, multiday fishing is quite costly, which required heavy investment on crafts. Value of a multiday craft with accessories and gear ranged from Rs. 5 m to 6.3 m. These crafts are equipped with a fish hold which could store fish in ice, a fuel tank that could hold a large volume of fuel a water tank, radio communication equipment and location finding devices such as GPS. They have a cabin to provide accommodation for crew and facilities for cooking. These crafts generally target tuna, shark, billfish, and mackerel resources, using fishing gear such as long lining and gillnetting. They are usually engaged in long fishing trips, often 1 week to 1 month in duration. A good number of these crafts fish beyond Sri Lank’s EEZ, in territories such as the Arabian sea, Bay of Bengal, other Indian waters, Andaman Islands, Nicorbar Islands, Maldive Islands, Lakshadweep Islands, Bangladesh, Madagascar Indonesia and Australian Islands. The duration of some of these fishing trips exceed 45 days.

Average catch volumes landed by these crafts from a fishing trip range from 1,800 to 3,500 kg, the maximum reported catches exceeding 5,000 kg. The landed fish vary in quality, and about a quarter of the catches consist of poor quality fish. This is attributed to long fishing trips and the use of gill nets. Some crafts land small quantities of dry fish, which are made from fish caught earlier in the trip. Revenues range from Rs. 0.7 m to 1.2 m per fishing trip. Both catch volumes and revenues increase with the length of the craft; the >40 ft crafts earning the highest revenues.

Variable costs of fishing operations include those incurred on fuel, food, crew labour, medicine, ice, water, etc. Labour accounts for half of the variable cost while fuel accounts for nearly a fourth. Variable costs of a fishing trip range from Rs. 0.34 m (smaller crafts) to Rs. 0.7 m (crafts above 40 ft). Annual fixed costs of multiday fishing involve the costs of depreciation of the hull, engine, accessories and fishing gear, which range from Rs. 0.6 m to Rs. 1 m. All multiday crafts enjoy positive gross and net profits, indicating both short-term and long-term viability of multiday fishing. Gross profits ranged from Rs. 2.5 m  to Rs. 3.3 m. They increased from Rs. 3.0 m (34-35 ft category) to Rs. 3.3 m (36-38 ft category) and decreased to Rs. 2.5 m ( >40 ft crafts). The same trend was observed in respect of net profits too. They increased from Rs. 1.8 m (34-35 ft crafts) to Rs. 1.9 m (36-38 ft crafts) and then decreased to Rs. 0.64 m (>40 ft category). However, taking into account the high variability of profits worked out for  crafts operating from different harbours, the present study safely conclude that, the highest profits are earned by crafts belong to the 34-38 ft length category and that profits decrease thereafter. Although highest revenues are earned by crafts belong to the >40 ft category, they do so at a higher cost, therefore earning low gross and net profits.

Net profits earned by a craft owner-investor can be considered as his net income from operating a multiday craft. Monthly net income of an owner of a multiday craft belonging to the 34-38 ft craft category is about Rs. 150,000, which is comparable with the monthly salary of a university professor. However, the monthly income of an owner of a larger craft (above 40 ft category) is around Rs. 53,000, which only marginally above the mean monthly income of an average Sri Lankan household. If apparent income is considered as the fishing income less of operational costs, then fishers do not see a significant variation among their incomes. They all could live lavishly in the short run.

Poaching by multiday crafts is a common phenomenon. The most common poaching grounds are in Indian waters. Irrespective of the length category, up to about 50 percent of all crafts found in the study harbours poach. Evidently, by poaching, crafts could earn higher revenues.  Break Even Revenue (BER) estimated for different crafts indicated that, poaching was not necessary for Sri Lankan multiday crafts to remain economically viable, because by fishing within Sri Lanka’s EEZ, all types of crafts could earn revenues which could pay off all costs. However, the revenues earned by larger crafts above 4o ft, were only marginally covering up the costs, which could have forced them to poach and earn higher revenues. Nevertheless, it was quite evident that, if multiday crafts poach, they do so to earn higher profits, rather than to remain economically viable.

Poaching entails the risk of arrest. Very few crafts reported arrest during the past five years. Incidence of arrest has been highest for the >40 ft category of crafts. While the number of vessels and fishers arrested increased up to the year 2009, there has been a significant decline since then. Among others, improved security situation after the cessation of war in 2009, allowing fishermen to fish more freely in Sri Lankan waters and, more vigilant surveillance operations by the Indian Coast Guard could be two reasons behind the recent decline in the incidence of poaching.

 

 

5.2 Policy Implications

The results of the present study have certain important implications for policy, in respect of craft standards and the future of multiday fishing in Sri Lanka.

Failure to establish craft standards by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has certainly resulted in the continuous drive towards building lengthier crafts. This has not resulted in any increase in net returns to fishing but a wastage of society’s resources. Boat yards build crafts to meet the demand of the owner-investors, rather than crafts which maximize returns to investment. We therefore, strongly emphasize the need to establish standards for multiday boats. Probably, profit margins earned by boat yards by constructing larger crafts are higher. As the results of the study indicated, construction of multiday crafts, with lengths exceeding 38 ft, should be discouraged,  unless higher investments in longer crafts is accompanied by technological developments, which facilitate higher ‘catchability’. Yet, with their more spacious crew cabins, better cooking facilities, availability of TV, Hi-Fi, ability to carry more freshwater on board, etc. the process of constructing longer crafts has definitely led to an improvement in the standards of work in the fishing sector.

Our findings reveal that, in general, there is no need for multiday crafts to ‘poach’ in others’ territories because they could remain economically viable by fishing in Sri Lankan waters. The failure to establish craft standards will push some crafts into poaching probably to cover up their costs and earn profits that will allow them to remain ‘in the game’. However, it was quite evident during field studies that some crafts only fish in ‘others’ territories’ and, poaching is the general practice, which is purely due to the greed for higher profits. In fact, there seems to exist a ‘vicious cycle’ of investment and poaching. Heavy investment push crafts to poach and look for very rich fishing grounds, while potentially higher profits from poaching push investors to construct longer crafts to travel longer distances and stay longer at sea. Therefore, one cannot justify the SOS calls of the poachers, demanding the government to intervene in their release, when they willingly engage in poaching out of greed. In this respect, the recent efforts by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to introduce a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), to keep poaching under control, cannot be considered as a move that will bar multiday fishers from earning profits that will keep them economically viable in the long run.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Amarasinghe O. and N. J. De Silva (2005); “A General Description of Fisheries in Sri Lanka ”, in O. Amarasinghe (editor), Modernization and Change in marine small-scale fisheries of Southern Sri Lanka, Navamaga Printers, Colombo, pp. 315-358.

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