Along Sri Lanka’s 1,700km (1,056 miles) of coasts and lagoons, artisanal fishermen cast and gather their nets several times a day. The exact style of net employed and method of fishing varies village by village, born from generations of experience.

In the Kalpitiya peninsula in western Sri Lanka’s Puttalam district, beach seine fishers (who traditionally work in teams of 15-30 people, using a single net to surround a school of fish) employ very fine “bait” nets to catch smaller fish like anchovies and sardines. Larger meshed ones (seer and thara nets) cast further south are conducive for catching mackerel and tuna. An estimated thousand beach seines operate across the country.

Depletion of Marine Resources and Rocketing Prices of Oil

Amid the familiarity of these enduring practices, new tensions and stresses are stirring as Sri Lanka continues to undergo the worst economic crisis in its history. Sarath Appuham’s beach seine owner acquired a tractor a few years ago in an attempt to counter slumping labor issues and what seems to be fewer fish in the ocean. Although the winching allows Sarath and his colleagues to cast their nets up to four times a day, double what they could do when the work was fully manual, there is virtually no difference in total commercially viable fish caught at the end of the day.  Rocketing prices for basic and food commodities such as beans and vegetable oil mean that his wife has cut back on her shopping for the family.

Nearly half of artisanal beach seine fishermen have adopted new methods, whether it is mechanization or highertech gear, but it hasn't helped them improve their catch. Economic strain Inflation is the most pressing challenge to small-scale fishers right now.

Migration and Lack of Interest of Young People in Fishing Industry

Dilrukshan, 38, YCW member, operates at Negombo Lagoon, just north of the capital city of Colombo. He has been working in beach seine since he was 16. He says that he is close to reaching breaking point with the economic strain. It has not been a profitable year. The price for kerosene oil, fuel for his boat, has increased four times, from 87 Sri Lankan rupees ($0.28) in 2022 to 340 rupees ($1.1) for one litre (33.8fl oz) in 2023 – petrol costs have more than doubled over the last two years. Right now, he is planning to migrate abroad so he can provide for his family.

The resulting dual challenge of underemployment and the labor shortage is threatening the continuity of traditional beach seine. Although tractors can replace men in terms of net hauling, individuals are still needed for most other tasks: to separate the catch, dry it and clean or repair the net. Most beach seine fishers are older men. The work is too low-paying and hard to attract younger generations. There is no clear trajectory of alternative jobs for fishers.

Alternative jobs

Many have been opting to either stay at home or find odd jobs, but there is no clear employment trajectory for fishers to take. The government, facing a myriad of challenges, has been slow to offer support the fishermen. There just aren’t enough alternative occupations for fishers. The common gig jobs in Sri Lanka, such as driving tuk-tuks, fail to generate anything substantial. With the internet, young people realize that there are other opportunities out there but they don’t know how to get there.

Effects of Climate Change

Fluctuating weather patterns affect the seasonal migration of fishermen who move from the west to the east coast and back. There are generally two good fishing periods in Sri Lanka, from October to April on the west coast, and April to October in the east. These temporal lines have become blurred in recent years with environmental shifts. Fluctuating weather patterns affect the seasonal migration of those fishermen who move from the west to the east coast and back. Seas have become rougher, which means fishermen either have to take time off or risk their lives.

Sri Lanka is especially vulnerable to climate change. The mechanization has also led to the erosion of delicate coastal landscapes. The seaside belt along Kalpitiya has beautiful stretches of natural sand dunes. When beach seine fishers use tractors, their tracks are prone to eroding the beaches, leading to the destruction of endemic coastal vegetation such as Ipomoea aquatica (water spinach), Opuntia dillenii (prickly pear) and Spinifex littoreus (coastal grass).

Loan sharks and the lack of support from the government

Small-scale fishing has never been a particularly profitable business. The financial uncertainty has only increased during this crisis period. Fishers take loans from informal money lenders – wholesale fish sellers and fuel shops at times – to purchase fuel. That loan can be stretched across several fishing trips in the hopes they can have a profitable catch to settle the loan. These days, the gamble may seem greater than ever. Of the nearly 50,000 fishers in Sri Lanka, around 5,000 work on offshore multi-day boat trips. They have been forced to scrimp on expenses, working longer hours over shorter fishing trips.

Higher Expenditure of fishing

The food, water and fuel required for a month-long trip used to cost about 150,000 rupees ($408). Now, it is closer to 250,000 ($800). The more modern and durable fiberglass boats equipped with outer engines may require less maintenance and repairs than the paru wooden boats fashioned by skilled carpenters, but their costs are also far higher.