SRI LANKA Case Studies on Jakottu Fisheries in the Madu Ganga Estuary and Kattudel Fishery in the Negombo Lagoon
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TERRITORIAL USE RIGHTS IN FISHERIES (TURFS) IN SRI LANKA Case Studies on Jakottu Fisheries in the Madu Ganga Estuary and Kattudel Fishery in the Negombo Lagoon Anton R. Atapattu Ministry of Fisheries P. 0.Box I 707, Colombo 10 Sri Lanka 1. Introduction Sri Lanka is situated in the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean, Southeast of India, between latitudes 6ON - IOONand longitudes 30°C - 82"E. It is in the Fishing Area 51 - Western Indian Ocean - according to the FA0 classification. The land area is about 65,000 km2 with a coastline of about 1,770 km. The width of the continental shelf rarely extends beyond 40 km and the average is about 25 km. With the declaration of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Sri Lanka in 1977, about 256,400 km2 of sea came under the national jurisdiction. There are, in addition, inland freshwater reservoirs to the extent of about 160,000 ha. and brackish water lagoons estuaries and mangrove swamps of about 120,000 ha. Figure 1 shows the EEZ, Indo-Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary and the Historic Waters (FA0 1984). The present population of Sri Lanka, projected from the 1981 population census, is about 15 million. The population is predominantly rural (about 78% rural and 22% urban). The density of population is 230 per km2 and the annual population growth rate is 1.7%. Due to the religious and cultural background, the majority of Sri Lankans prefer fish to meat. It provides essential animal proteins for the population. In fact 60% of the total animal protein requirements are supplied by fish, which is an important consideration for the development of fisheries. The level of production is in the region of 218,500 tons (in 1983) of which 182,900 tons or 84% is from marine fisheries, the balance being from inland fisheries. The fisheries are predominantly small-scale and rural-based. Out of the total marine fish production, over 99% comes from the small-scale coastal fisheries, the small balance being from the off-shore fisheries. .The per capita fish availability is about 15.4 kg (1983). In the fishing industry, about 80,000 are engaged in the primary production sector and about 28,000 in the secondary sector like marketing, production of fishing gear and ice, boat manufacture, repair of boats, engines etc. about 25,000 or approximately one third of the active fishermen, are mem'bers of Fishermen's Co-operative Societies (FCSs). Families and dependants constitute about 500,000. There are about 950 fishing villages scattered round the island. According to the "Dr Fridtjof Nansen" Survey undertaken in 1978 - 1980 with FA0 assistance, the annual sustainable yield in the coastal waters of Sri Lanka is about 250,000 mt (Saeretsdahl and Bruin 1979). A variety of fishing craft, both traditional and mechanized as well as other types of traditional fishing gear exploit these resources. At present, there are about 28,000 fishing craft in operation out of which about 48% are mechanized. The production from mechanized craft was 70% in 1985. Sri Lanka exports mainly crustaceans like shrimps and lobsters, beche-de-mer, shark fins etc. to Japan, the U.S.A., Hong Kong and Singapore. Prawns fetch very high prices in local and international markets and therefore the fishing effort in prawn production has increased over the years in both traditional and mechanized fisheries. In 1983, 4,200 mt were exported and 22,000 mt were imported mainly as canned and dried fish (Sri Lanka, Ministry of Finance and Planning 1985). Sri Lanka has a long history for fisheries as a result of its being a coastal state. At present 30% of the total production comes from traditional fisheries, showing their importance. The traditional fisheries have been associated with various types of property rights for centuries. This is mainly due to the fact that inhabitants of coastal areas exploited resources in the sea close to their villages and prevented other people exploiting these resources. As the coastal and lagoon areas, where the resources were found, were at their door-step, these could be easily defended. For instance in the beach seine (locally known as "madel") fishery, property rights or use rights are exercised to such an extent, that sometimes, these are handed down as dowry in marriage. In Sri Lanka, socio-cultural barriers play a major role in all aspects of fisheries. According to a recent survey by the Marga Institute, Catholics and Hindus are engaged in fishing more than Buddhists. Although Buddhists compose 67% of the total population compared with 17.6% Hindus and 8% Catholics, Buddhists represent only 22% of the fishing population while Hindus and Catholics account for 21% and 45% respectively (Table 1). There is another factor which has some influence on entry into fisheries. Generally two castes, viz., the Karawa caste in the Sinhala community and Karayar in Tamil are engaged in the fishing industry. They constitute 79% of the total fishing population. With 10% Muslims, only 11% belong to other castes (Table 1). This caste composition plays a major role in keeping the "outsiders" away, thereby leading to the establishment of property rights. Table 1. Distribution of Marine and Lagoon Fishermen by Religion and Caste. "70 of % of Race Religion Caste Fishermen Fishermen - - 1. Sinhala Buddhist 22.04 Karawa 46.54 Roman Catholic Christian 30.98 Govigama Protestant Christian 0.20 Salagama 3.10 Durawa 5.60 2. Tamil Hindu 21.00 Karayar 32.74 R.C. Christian 14.47 Protestant Other Christian 0.60 Other 3. Moor and Malay Muslim Source: Munasinghe 1984. Clearly religion and caste play an important role in the determination of entry into fishing (Panayotou 1984). Apart from this the closed communities at village level determine "who should fish" in a specified area. Migration from villages even closeby has led to disputes on rights to fish. Situations where territorial use rights in fisheries (TURFS) are exercised, may be seen in fish kraals or fish kottu (the local name is "Jakottu" or "~kulweti")' in many lagoons and estuaries in the Southern and Eastern coastal areas (eg. Madu C3anga2 estuary in Balapitiya (Figures, 2 and 3), Bolgoda ~ake~in Panadura), stake seine 1. Singular - Jakotuwa or Akulwetiya; Plural - Jakottu or Akulweti. 2. Ganga - River. 3. Although called a lake, it is a lagoon. Source, FA0 1984 Figure 1. The Exclusive Economic Zone and Maritime Boundary of Sd Lanka. SRI LANKA Figure 2. Areas of Case Study. BAL TRAPS Figure 4. A Jakottuwa. WOODEN STANDS FOR TWO POLES FISHERMEN TO -HOLD THE NET Figure 5. An Atoli Dela. nets or pound nets ("~attudel"~or "Bandb del") in the Negombo (Figures, 2 and 6) and Chilaw Lagoons. These TURFs fall within two broad categories. In the first type, the use rights are legalised by regulations framed under various legislation like the Game Protection Ordinance, Local Bodies Ordinance and Fisheries Ordinance. Jakottu fishery comes under this category. Secondly, a dispute on use rights leads to a public inquiry conducted under Section 20 of the Fisheries Ordinance, after which regulations are framed to manage the fishery. There are many instances right round the country where disputes have led to the framing of such regulations and the kattudel fishery is one such instance. The Jakottu fishery in the Madu Ganga estuary in the Balapitiya Town Council area, and the Kattudel fishery in the Negombo Lagoon have been selected for case studies, to represent the diverse nature of use rights and the controls applied to the new entrants to the fishery. The study intends to examine the basis of the use right, its nature and outcome, and its influence on the socio-economic conditions of the participants as well as the other people living in the close vicinity to the area where use rights are exercised. 2. Case Studies on Jakottu and Kattudel Fisheries TURFs are amply illustrated in the operation of Jakottu and Kattudel. In these cases how the use rights are established, their operations, principles of limited entry, settlement of disputes are of interest and are important in understanding how effective TURFs are in the management of these fisheries. 2.1 Jakottu Fishery in the Madu Ganga Estuary 2.1.1 General Fish kraals of this type are associated with some lagoons and estuaries in the western and southern coastal - 4. Singular - Kattudela or Bandudela; Plural - Kattudel or Bandu del. areas of the country. For the case study, Jakottu in the Madu Ganga estuary in the Balapitiya are selected as they are typical and are in substantial numbers. 2.1.2 Structure and Operation of Jakottu Jakottu are constructed of a vertical rattan (Pearson 1923) or bamboo strip barrier leading into a number of traps. Bamboo strips are tied together using coir rope. These raw materials are found in areas where Jakottu are erected. Strong poles fixed to the bottom of the estuary are used on the edge as well as in between to tie the bamboo work. A Jakottuwa is illustrated in Figure 4 . Jakottu are operated from around 18.00 to 06.00 hours the follawing day when the catch is collected. The catch consists mainly of prawns and fish. The catch is auctioned but sometimes sold to traditional fishermen for bait. The average monthly income from a Jakottuwa is around Rs. 3,000/-. Atoliya or atoli dela is a stick-held net generally associated with Jakottu. According to Jakottu regulations, there should be a navigable space of at least 16 feet (5 metres) in between Jakottu. Atoli nets (Figure 5) are operated just outside this gap. Two ends of the net are fixed by long sticks or poles and the other two ends are held by two people.