The Ministry of Fisheries has asked the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) for a scientific report on fish populations in Sri Lankan waters, after fishermen reported a decline in their catches.
Deputy Minister of Fisheries Rathna Gamage said the ministry had also requested a detailed assessment of the potential impact of an El Niño condition on fish stocks and fishing yields.
The government intends to use NARA’s findings and recommendations as the basis for fishing regulations and decisions on how the resource is managed, NewsFirst reported.
No figures yet
Neither the ministry nor the agency has put a number on the shortfall. The report, as described, is a request for evidence rather than a finding — the ministry has not said what it believes is driving the reduced catches, and no timeline has been given for NARA to report back.
The El Niño question
The reference to El Niño picks up a concern the Department of Meteorology raised earlier in the year. In April the department warned that El Niño conditions developing during the southwest monsoon could extend dry weather into September, and urged water rationing across domestic, agricultural and irrigation users.
That warning was framed around rainfall and reservoir levels. Applying the same question to fish stocks extends it offshore, where warmer sea surface temperatures can shift the distribution and abundance of commercially important species.
A difficult month at sea
The request comes at the end of a punishing stretch for the fishing fleet, though for reasons unrelated to stock levels. Repeated Red-level marine advisories have closed sea areas to fishing boats for days at a time, including an order covering the Matara–Pottuvil stretch until Monday morning, and five fishermen died in weather-related incidents at sea earlier this month.
Sources: NewsFirst.
