Fisheries Development and Management Plan of Negombo Lagoon Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Maligawatte Colombo 10 March 2013 REGIONAL FISHERIES LIVELIHOODS PROGRAMME FOR SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA (RFLP) --------------------------------------------------------- Fisheries development and management plan of Negombo lagoon (Activity 1.2.5 Prepare Fisheries Development and Management Plan through a Stakeholder Task Force) For the Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme for South and Southeast Asia Prepared by Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Maligawatte, Colombo 10, Sri Lanka December 2012 1 Disclaimer and Copyright This publication has been made with the financial support of the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID) through an FAO trust-fund project, the Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (RFLP) for South and Southeast Asia. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the opinion of FAO, AECID, MOFAR or RFLP. 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Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme for South and Southeast Asia (GCP/RAS/237/SPA): Field Project Document 2012/LKA/CM/12. 2 Contents Preface .......................................................................................................................................................... 4 1. Negombo lagoon and Fisheries ................................................................................................................. 5 1.1 Negombo lagoon Fishery Management Area ......................................................................................... 5 1.2 Fish resources and productivity .......................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Fishers involved in Negombo lagoon fisheries ................................................................................... 5 1.4 Fishing fleet ........................................................................................................................................ 7 1.5 Fishing gear and methods ................................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Fish production ................................................................................................................................... 9 2. Status of the Fishery ............................................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Assessments of relevant fish stocks .................................................................................................. 10 2.2 Socio-economic status of fishers....................................................................................................... 10 3 Ecological and environmental status of the Lagoon ............................................................................ 11 6. Objectives and Performance Indicators .................................................................................................. 23 7. Control Mechanisms (Management measures)...................................................................................... 24 7.1 Access arrangements ......................................................................................................................... 24 7.2 Input controls .................................................................................................................................... 25 7.3 Voluntary Code of conduct ............................................................................................................... 26 8. Monitoring of the Fishery (data collection and analysis)........................................................................ 26 9. Compliance (surveillance and enforcement) .......................................................................................... 27 10. Research and investigations ................................................................................................................. 27 11. Fisheries development .......................................................................................................................... 28 11.1 Infrastructure facilities .................................................................................................................... 28 11.2 Credit facilities ................................................................................................................................ 28 11.3 Lagoon and ecosystem rehabilitation .............................................................................................. 28 12. Consultation and extension with stakeholders .................................................................................... 29 13. Plan monitoring and review .................................................................................................................. 29 13.1 Monitoring of the Fishery Development and Management Plan .................................................... 29 14. Review and amendment of the Plan ..................................................................................................... 33 References .................................................................................................................................................. 33 3 Preface With the declaration of Negombo lagoon as a fishery management area under Section 31 of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act No. 2 of 1996, it became necessary to prepare and implement a fishery management plan for the lagoon. Although Negombo lagoon has functioning Fisheries Committees and a Fisheries Management Authority, in the absence of a systematic and legally recognized plan, a host of fisheries, environmental and social problems have cropped up in the lagoon which supports many fishery and non-fishery related activities. The increased intensity and diversity of activities taking place in and around the Negombo estuary, which have the effect of depleting fish and other aquatic resources and affecting water quality in the estuary include disposal of sewage, industrial effluents and domestic solid waste in the estuary, dredging and the construction of inlets into the estuary and other development activities in the area. These and the illegal land filling that have been going on for some time have reduced the estuary area, adversely impacting livelihoods of the communities. The Fisheries Development and Management Plan for Negombo lagoon has been developed to resolve the fisheries, environmental and social problems associated with the lagoon, conserve the lagoon environment and support sustainable development of fisheries in the lagoon. It adopts an ecosystem-based management of fisheries with a strong element of environment conservation. The Fisheries Development and Management Plan for Negombo lagoon presented here has been developed by a multi-agency Task Force appointed by the Interim Fisheries Management Coordinating Committee of Negombo Lagoon, under the guidance of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, with technical and financial support from the Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The members of the Task Force are given in Annex 1. Nimal Hettiarachchi Director General Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources 4 1. Negombo lagoon and Fisheries 1.1 Negombo lagoon Fishery Management Area Negombo lagoon has been declared as a Fishery Management Area, under Section 31 of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act, No. 2 of 1996, by the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and published in the Gazette Extraordinary, No. 1415/12 of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka dated 18th October 2005. Negombo lagoon is a shallow basin estuary of approximately 3,164 ha in extent, situated about 20 km north of Colombo (704’-7012’ N / 79047’ – 79051’ E). It extends 12.5 km in length, 0.6 – 3.6 km in width, has a shoreline of 24 km and a mean depth of 0.65 m. It has a surface area of 35 km2 and holds 22.5 million m3 of water. The lagoon is connected to the sea by a single narrow opening, the Negombo channel segment at its northern end, which is open year round (Fig. 1). A total of thirteen islands of different sizes, mostly covered with mangrove vegetation are situated towards the outlet to the sea. The size of these islands and the several sand shoals vary from about 2 ha to slightly more than 30 ha. Negombo lagoon is part of a much larger Muthurajawela marsh - Negombo lagoon coastal wetland with a total area of 6,232 ha. The Muthurajawela marsh is 3,068 ha in extent and extends southwards from the 3,164 ha lagoon. The lagoon itself is bordered by four Divisional