DFM Sri Lanka

Map of Sri Lanka (OCHA)

Sri Lanka is a small island in the Indian Ocean with a total land area of 65,510 km2 and a 1,760 km long coastline. With the declaration of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in 1976, the Government of Sri Lanka obtained sovereign rights over an ocean area of 536,000 km2.

The fisheries sector in Sri Lanka is basically small-scale, but is very important in terms of employment, food security and generation of foreign exchange. Fish products are a vital source of animal protein, providing around 70% of the animal protein consumed in the country.

Dried fish in Sri Lanka

Dried fish has been produced in Sri Lanka for centuries, with British colonial records dating to the 19th century. There are also records of dried fish produced in the island being traded in South India. 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.

According to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development (MFARD), dried fish production in Sri Lanka has increased more than fivefold between 1995 and 2016. Dried fish was estimated at 5.1 percent of total fish production in 1995, increasing its share to 12.2 percent of total fish production in 2016. Domestic production accounted for 65% of the dried fish supply in 2016 whereas it was only 21.1% in 1995.

The main dried fish producing districts are Trincomalee, Mannar, Puttalam, Matara, and Jaffna. Around 70 percent of dried fish production of the country takes place in the Northern and Eastern provinces. Dried fish imports come mainly from Thailand, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Maldives and China.

Domestic production accounted for 65% of the dried fish supply in 2016 whereas it was only 21.1% in 1995. The main dried fish producing districts are Trincomalee, Mannar, Puttalam, Matara, and Jaffna. Around 70 percent of dried fish production of the country takes place in the Northern and Eastern provinces. Dried fish imports come mainly from Thailand, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Maldives and China.

In Sri Lanka dried fish performs a number of functions:

  • It provides a mode of preserving the excess supply of fish
  • It generates supplementary incomes to fishing households
  • It provides alternative livelihoods to women fisher folk
  • It constitutes a major source of animal protein to rural and poor households especially in estate sector
  • It permits smoothing out of consumption throughout the year even in areas where fish are not abundant for some period; etc.

Dried fish processing and small-scale trading form one of the major employment activities in coastal villages for women fisher folk and marginalized groups who use a variety of techniques to process them. For many fishing villages, where dry fish processing is widely practiced, it has become a way of life for the people.

From production and supply of fish for dry fish making until the final product is consumed by the consumer, a chain of activities add value to the product at various links. This dry fish value chain involve a large number of individuals; the fishermen catching fish, fish assemblers, fish sellers, purchasers of fish for drying, input suppliers, the actual processors, sellers, traders, marketers, transporters, wholesalers, retailers and consumers.

However, serious concerns have been raised about the dried fish economy of Sri Lanka. First is the very low quality of some fish that are dried. Women dominate the fish-drying workforce, whose working conditions are sometimes characterized by severe forms of exploitation like low wages and hazards. Chemical use during drying and storage of fish to protect against insect infestation is believed to be widespread in certain areas. Sanitary conditions during the production process are also poor, posing additional potential risks. There are also serious fluctuations in production of fish and the demand for fresh fish is also increasing, leaving little surpluses for drying. International trade has also caused shortages of even small fish varieties for fish drying, which form an important source of proteins for poorer households.

Team

Prof. Oscar Amarasinghe: Advisor

Prof Oscar Amarasinghe who serves as an Advisor of the DFM project, is a professor at the Faculty of Agricuture, University of Ruhuna. He holds an MSc degree from State University of Ghent, Belgium, and a PhD in Economics and Social Sciences granted from the University of Namur, Belgium. Prof. Amarasinghe is a veteran social scientist, and one of the pioneer experts in the country in the fields of small scale fisheries and development economics, with over 30 years of experience and expertise in research in the Sri Lankan fisheries sector. He is the president and the founder of Sri Lanka Forum for Small Scale Fisheries (SLFSSF).  As the advisor, he would provide general guidance to the DFMSL and, would contribute in reviewing reports and papers. In addition to that, he holds the responsibility of the policy context analysis part of the project.

Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Oscar_Amarasinghe

Dr. Nireka Weeratunge: Advisor

Dr. Nireka Weeratunge who serves as an advisor of the DFMSL, is an independent researcher. She holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of Toronto, Canada and over 20 years of experience in research and development practice in the interface of gender, environment and development issues in the Asia-Pacific region. Her main areas of research are social and cultural aspects of natural resource use, and micro/small enterprise, focusing on livelihood strategies related to poverty, vulnerability, resilience and wellbeing of rural households in fishing and farming communities. As a consultant she would contribute to the DFMSL through training students on qualitative methods and gender analysis and reviewing papers.

Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nireka_Weeratunge

Mrs. Dilanthi Koralagama: Coordinator

Mrs. Dilanthi Koralagama who serves as the coordinator of the DFMSL, is a lecturer at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna. She holds an MSc degree in Fisheries Economics and Management from University of Tromso, Norway. As the coordinator of the DFMSL, she is responsible for the overall coordination of research activities carried out at the University of Ruhuna and supervising field work.

Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dilanthi_Koralagama2

Other contributors

  • Mr. Upul Liyanage: Researcher
  • Mrs. Renuka Weerakkody: Researcher
  • Dr. Ranjith Wickramasinghe: Researcher
  • Mr. K. Suraj Chandra Kumara: Researcher

Partner Organisations

University of Ruhuna

The University of Ruhuna is a public university in Matara, Sri Lanka, and the only university located in Southern Sri Lanka.

The University is organised into ten faculties (Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Management and Finance, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Faculty of Allied Health Science, and Faculty of Technology) throughout the Southern province of Sri Lanka.

The University undertakes research, mostly with other universities, government organisations, semi-governmental organisations and non-governmental organisations. The research is funded by both Sri Lankan and foreign entities.

Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI)

Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI) is the premier national institute in the field of socio-economic research. It generates a range of policy analysis to cover key determinants of human and research development in the agrarian sector, functions under the Ministry of Agriculture.

HARTI collects daily and weekly food prices from identified locations in Sri Lanka thus serves as the data bank for agrarian research and policies. The institution has granted its consent to work as a collaborative partner for the DFMSL project together with University of Ruhuna.

Key Research Questions

  • What are the historical patterns of dried fish production and trading within Sri Lanka, as well as trade of Sri Lankan dried fish within the South/east Asian region?
  • What is the role of social relations and networks in the organization of production and trading of dried fish in Sri Lanka?
  • Who are the actors in dried fish value chains? How are they governed? How much of value is produced in each node? What are differences in value received by actors according to scale of enterprise, gender and ethnicity?
  • What is the contribution of dried fish to nutrition in Sri Lanka? Is there a cultural preference for dried fish among producers and/or consumers? Have consumption patterns changed with increased income and new food preferences?
  • What is the contribution of dried fish to wellbeing and resilience of fishing households?
  • What is the current policy context of dried fish production and what interventions are necessary to increase the wellbeing of households in the sector?

Dried fish in Sri Lanka - Literature Review

Koralagama, D., Wickrama, S., & Adikari, A. (2021). “A Preliminary Analysis of the Social Economy of Dried Fish in Sri Lanka.” Literature review. Colombo: Dried Fish Matters / University of Ruhuna. [DFM_RPT_Dried-fish-in-Sri-Lanka-literature-review.pdf]

Sri Lanka, an island rich with aquatic resources, situated at the crossroads of maritime trade between Europe, East Africa, Southeast Asia, has a long history for dried fish industry.  Dried fish has played a significant nutritional and cultural role in the Sri Lankan diet, as well as being an important commodity traded within the island and among neighboring countries. While a larger percentage of total fish production is iced, traded, and eaten as fresh fish, it is estimated that 14% of the catch is preserved using simple techniques such as sun drying, salting, smoking, and fermentation, collectively known as "dried fish." Dried fish is used as a main dish as well as a condiment to improve the flavor of vegetable dishes and rice in Sri Lankan cuisine. Published and unpublished data were gathered from various sources, including state universities, research centres, graduate and post-graduate dissertations. It also contains certain specific data extracted from Annual reports and statistics of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development (MFARD) and so on. Historical information was collected from administrative reports and sessional papers available at National Archives, as well as accounts published by early British administrators and travellers. Data and analysis of socio-cultural relations were accessed through sociological studies and ethnographies of fishing communities. The literature review report assess, A brief overview of the fisheries sector, which provides the raw material for the dried fish industry, history of the social economy of dried fish, dried fish production in Sri Lanka, both the marine and inland sectors,  dried fish trade, local consumption , nutritional value and quality  and finally, the Research gaps and scoping priorities

Workshop

Qualitative Data Analysis - Part 1

  • Session 1: Contextualizing qualitative data analysis
  • Session 2: Qualitative data analysis techniques: Fundamentals
  • Session 3: Transforming qualitative data into explanation through systematic analysis: Grounded theory approach
  • Session 4: Analytical tables

Significant Publications on Dried fish-Sri Lanka

Atapattu, R., & Samarajeewa, U. (1990). Fungi associated with dried fish in Sri Lanka. Mycopathologia, 111(1), 55-59.

Pethiyagoda, R. (1994). Threats to the indigenous freshwater fishes of Sri Lanka and remarks on their conservation. In Ecology and Conservation of Southeast Asian Marine and Freshwater Environments including Wetlands (pp. 189-201). Springer, Dordrecht.

Nuwanthi, S. G. L. I., Madage, S. S. K., Hewajulige, I. G. N., & Wijesekera, R. G. S. (2016). Comparative study on organoleptic, microbiological and chemical qualities of dried fish, Goldstripe Sardinella (Sardinella gibbosa) with low salt levels and spices. Procedia food science, 6, 356-361.

Amarasinghe, O. (2003). International trade in fish and fish products and food security in Sri Lanka. An FAO study, 73-75.

Weeratunge, N., Snyder, K. A., & Sze, C. P. (2010). Gleaner, fisher, trader, processor: understanding gendered employment in fisheries and aquaculture. Fish and Fisheries, 11(4), 405-420.

Wickrama, P.S.S.L., Koralagama, D.N. (2020). Potentials and challenges expanding inland fisheries in Sri Lanka; Dambe-are Wellawaya.  International symposium of Dry Zone Agriculture. University of Jaffna.

Wickrama, P.S.S.L., Koralagama, D.N., & Harshana, P.V.S. (2021). International Syoposium The impact of household income on dried fish consumption in Sri nLanka. Agriculture and Environment. University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka, 419- 421.

Wickrama, P.S.S.L., Koralagama, D.N., & Sandika, A.L. (2021). Assessing seasonal price behavior of selected dried fish varieties in Sri Lanka. Tropical Agricultural Research & Extension 24 (1):21-34.