DFM Sri Lanka literature review - Introduction

The social economy of dried fish in Sri Lanka, an island located at the crossroads of maritime trade between Europe, East Africa, South and Southeast Asia, has a long history. Dried fish has not only been an important commodity traded within the island and among neighbouring countries, but it has also played a significant nutritional and cultural role in the Sri Lankan diet. Although a greater proportion of the total fish production is iced, traded, and consumed as fresh fish, it is estimated that 14 percent of the catch is preserved using simple techniques such as sun drying, salting, smoking and fermentation, collectively referred to as “dried fish.” In Sri Lankan cuisine, dried fish is consumed as a main dish, as well as a condiment to enhance the flavour of vegetable dishes and rice.

Dried fish has been produced in Sri Lanka for centuries, as seen in British colonial records dating back to the 19th century[1]. British administrators monitored dried fish production on the west and northeast coasts, as well as trading of the commodity into larger coastal and interior towns in the Dry Zone and hill-country for the purpose of taxation of fish, as well as salt, an important ingredient in processing. There are also records of dried fish produced on the island being traded in South India [2] and being imported from India [3]. The fish and salt taxes levied by the colonial state, as well as the growth of the fresh fish industry, were attributed to a decline in the dried fish industry since the British period [4].

Before 1940 when ice was not yet conveniently available, beach seining, which was the predominant form of fish production, was conducted at near subsistence level with 40% of the catch consumed by the community, and around half of the catch dried and sold to interior villages [5]. After 1940 with the introduction of ice and improved communications, the consumption of fresh fish grew rapidly between 1940-1960, becoming the predominant form of animal protein consumed by Sri Lankans by the early 1980s [6]. Nonetheless, dried fish remained the second-highest meat and fish product consumed per capita nationally, after fresh fish until 2012, after which it has been relegated to third place [7]. Per capita consumption of dried fish, which dropped during 2009-2012, returned to 2006 levels by 2016, while the contribution of dried fish to the household food expenditure basket has remained relatively constant between 3.5 - 4.5% since 1980/81. It is especially important as a source of animal protein for low-income households in the island's rural regions [8].

Dried fish value chains constitute intricate networks of backward and forward linkages, employing thousands of women and men in fish production, sorting, processing, and trading nationally. However, very little data and research are available on the structure and dynamics of these value chains, the exact quantities of fish dried, or the proportion of fishers and fish workers employed within the industry, in contrast to the fisheries sector as a whole. This review attempts to take stock of the scattered literature available on the dried fish industry to provide an overview of its social economy in Sri Lanka while also identifying existing knowledge gaps that the project needs to address.

The literature review is structured as follows; Section 2 provides the key secondary sources available on the dried fish industry, history, and social relations. Next, a brief overview of the fisheries sector, which provides the raw material for the dried fish industry, is given in Section 3. Then the history of the social economy of dried fish is presented in Section 4. Section 5 focuses on dried fish production in Sri Lanka, paying attention to both the marine and inland sectors. Section 6 relates to dried fish trade, including demand and supply, while local consumption is addressed in Section 7, and nutrition in Section 8. Research gaps and scoping priorities for the project are identified in Section 9.