News - No fishing as fishermen wait for seaworthy boats

As the Sun sets on the Hambantota harbour, the fishermen start readying their gear for another night’s work. But the sea is not their friend anymore, not after the tsunami on December 26, 2004. Now there is a sense of weariness among them. Despite all what they lost to the sea -- loved ones, fishing gear, houses, fellow fishermen, they still put out to sea every evening.

“It is because this is the only life we know. The one thing we have done all our life,” says K.G. Dhammika.

This is exactly what all of them have to say. It is too late for them to find another livelihood. No matter how much destruction the tsunami caused, the sea is still their calling.

Though it was difficult for them to have lost their families and houses, what affects them as much is the loss of their boats, nets and other fishing gear.

“How can I build a house and help the remaining members of my family if I don’t have a good boat to earn a living?” A. Gamini asks.

But according to Ministry authorities fishermen have been given enough boats so there should not be any problems.

Plenty of donations came from NGOs and institutions in the area but to become a beneficiary, an ownership card (Himikam Patha) was essential. It was this card which certified that a person owned a boat before the tsunami and therefore is eligible to receive one as replacement.

According to the fishermen at the Hambantota harbour, there was plenty of controversy surrounding the ownership cards.

As Noor Wahideen, a fisherman, said with a mocking smile, “Influence, influence.”

Most of the fishermen lost their ownership cards to the tsunami and new cards were issued by the Fisheries Inspector and a committee of officials who were sent from Colombo.

“The cards were issued to those who have political influence and some recipients were not even fishermen to begin with,” Mr. Wahideen said. Ownership cards were given to boat hands as well so the number of boat owners shot up significantly. There was another group who lost their boats to the tsunami but did not receive an ownership card to claim a new boat.

It was a few months after the tsunami that the fishermen received the first batch of boats from the Ambalantota branch of the Lanka Deva Sabhawa. Next came the NGO’s who gave boats to those who held a ownership card. Each fisherman’s estimation of the number of boats there was before the tsunami and the number there is now, differs. It could be easily seen that the number of boats have increased and increased so much that there are some 50 boats parked in backyards due to lack of space in the harbour.

The authorities and donors say a surplus amount of boats were donated and as such there is no reason for the fishermen to complain. But the fishermen say their problems most definitely do not stop there.

“We were not consulted before the boats were distributed so the ones we received are not suitable for the sea here,” Roshana Kumara said.

He said the boats have been built using inferior material and would not last long at sea.

“Boats that suit the sea here are Rocket and Dolphin but most boats we received were made in private yards, using low quality material”.

This has resulted in most of the donated boats being damaged and the discarded and overturned boats were being used by fishermen as improvised card tables.

Another crucial problem the fishermen face is the lack of proper fishing nets. A fisherman needs four sets of nets according to the size of the fish they catch. And all four sets are essential because during each season, the catch is different according to the fish available. Therefore when the nets they received were only suitable to catch “Alagoduwo”, it was a problem because Alagoduwo are available only for about fifty days each year. And to catch other fish with the same net is a tedious task that is time consuming.

“We go to sea by seven in the evening and return at seven the next morning. The rest of the day is spent on other daily chores and then we go back to sea again. God only knows what our wives do while we are gone,” said Anil Priyantha, a half rueful and a half amused smile playing on his lips. A good fishing net costs about Rs.60,000.

“I lost fishing nets worth some Rs. 300,000 and received one net worth Rs.8,000,” Priyantha said.

He lost two boats with 25 horsepower engines and received just one boat with a 15 horsepower engine.

“Even to get this I had to give Rs. 25,000.” He said it was ironic that he was still repaying a bank loan for one of his boat engines although the engine was lost to the tsunami.

The fluctuation in the fuel and fish prices has also created a problem for the fishermen in the post-tsunami period. “If the fish prices keep abreast with the fuel price hike, the situation will become bearable,” said R. Wasantha, another fisherman from the Hambantota harbour.

He said this was not the case and when the tiny profit was divided among the boat crew, very little was left for the owner.

Wasantha said that regardless of whatever problems they face they continue going out to sea because they could not let their families starve.

The fishermen have complained to authorities such as their welfare society, the fisheries inspector, the Government Agent, the Fisheries Ministry and the NGOs. But they are still awaiting a response.

“We don’t expect anything from them anymore,” said K.G. Dhammika who has repaired his boat and was trying to earn at least a meagre living.

According to how the fishermen at the Hambantota harbour saw the problem the answers could be found if the authorities built a rapport with the fishing community as a means of understanding the problems faced by the fishermen.

As Priyantha laughingly said, “If I lost all my clothes to the tsunami and if they only provided me with underwear how can I resume work.”