News
Photo focus: The battle for the beach
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Story and pix by W. Hubert Fernando and Anurada Bandara
The pristine beaches of Negombo have long been a primary attraction for tourists who visit the area. For years, tourist hotels along the Negombo beach existed side-by-side with the dry fish industry operated by local fishing communities.
In recent times however, hotel operators claim that those engaged in the dry fish business have begun occupying larger areas along the beach, resulting in the beach losing its attraction to foreign
tourists.
With vast stretches of the beach being used for preparation of dry fish, space left for tourists has rapidly diminished. The situation is worsened as many of those involved in the preparation of dried fish making no effort to keep the beach clean.
Attempts made by the Negombo Municipal Council to keep the beach clean via providing separate spaces for those involved in the dry fish industry have not met with much success.
As a result of the unhygienic situation, hotels in the area are begining to lose business.
Preparation of dried fish and tourism compete for space along Negombo’s golden sands
The pungent odour of drying fish often offends the sensibilities of tourists
Only a few if any tourists, are enamoured with the intricacies of dry fish preparation
Men bring in a fresh catch of fish to be dried
The burgeoning dried fish industry is rapidly expanding driving tourists away from the beach