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Environmental destruction under our noses
View(s):Because of illegal fishing practices adopted by migrant fishermen in the Puttalam lagoon, the traditional fishing community in the area
Anura Jayasekera
is facing immense hardships.
The Puttalam lagoon is the second largest of its kind in the country where around 6,000 fishermen earn a daily wage.
According to a former Assistant Director of Fisheries in Puttalam Anura Jayasekara, around 10,000 metric tonness of fish are caught here annually.
However today the catch is greatly reduced. The fishing community fears that as a result of the use of illegal nets (which are smaller than those used by traditional fishermen); the increasing number of encroachments and the dumping of garbage in the lagoon, the fish are gradually disappearing
A family unloading a very miniscule catch
“We are the original fishermen. Earlier we went to fish very happily and were never indebted to anyone. But now when we go to the lagoon we return sad and nearly empty-handed.
“We haven’t had a good catch for years now,” said 42-year-old M.J. Densil Anton -a member of Palakudawa St. Sebastian Fishing Union.
He said earlier they were able catch sufficient sprats and crabs to make a decent income, but the situation was different now.
“We do not use nets in which fingerlings (small fish) get caught. We catch fish when they are fairly big, but there are people who are using illegal tangus nets very openly -even during the day time. Even the smallest fish are caught in these nets.
“These people throw away between 10 – 15 bags of fingerlings and other small fish as they are of no use,” said 51-year-old Anthony Perera, a fisherman.
He said the migrant fishermen were destroying the future of lagoon fishing.
This type of net is prohibited as only fingerlings and small fish are caught in them
The use of these nets have been prohibited, but as our picture shows they are used openly