The National Conference on Identification of Knowledge gaps for Sustainable Management of Mangrove Ecosystems in Sri Lanka.

Lalitha Hotel, Matara Sri Lanka June 4-6, 2010

Abstract: 20

Own experiences in collapsing environment due to prawn farming

Thisera D1 and Kumara M. P.2*
1 Small

lagoon

fisheries

and

associated

Fishers Federation of Lanka, Pambala, Kakkapalliya, Sri Lanka of Life Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK *Corresponding Author: kumarampp@yahoo.com Tel: +94(0)716035682
2School

This article reveals self experiences of the first author during his former 20 years long fishing career between 1974 and 1993 in the Pambala-Chilaw lagoon Sri Lanka and from 1993 to date as a lagoon dweller

Since 1984, clearances of mangroves, pond constructions, ditch excavations made serious damages to the lagoon ecosystem. Those activities interrupted the natural hydrology in the lagoon and hence the dispersal of mangrove seeds and propagules. Timber and wood poles required for the farming activities were also harvested from mangroves in large scale and the frequent weeding activates inside the farms removed newly recruiting mangrove seedlings.With the imported soil for dykes, seeds of two invasive species; Acacia sp and Leucaena sp were introduced to the lagoon environment unnoticed and now becoming a serious threat as they are spreading faster in to mangroves, salt marshes and other natural vegetations. Large volumes of soil from surrounding areas were imported and compacted in to thousands of pond dykes while tones of soil left from improper handling were washed in to the lagoon with the rain. Such deposits of soil caused 33 to 66% reduction in water depth in some locations of the lagoon over a 15 years period. Reduced water volume discouraged the recruitments of fishes and shellfishes while the effluents released from the farms carried vast amount of nutrients leached from prawn feeds in to the lagoon encouraging the growth of floating aquatic weeds.

Lime, Super Phosphate, Urea, Dolomite and Saphonin (Tea-Seed-Cake) used for various faming practices were free to flow in to lagoon water with farm effluents. Number of fishers in the lagoon decreased from 200 to 40 as the catch was decreasing due to disturbances caused by the farms. Scoop netting method previously used for catching ornamental fish (Monodactylus argenteus and Scatophagus argus) is no longer operating as the species are not in abundance. Female brooders excessively captured for seed production in to prawn farms were not released back to natural systems. In the past, 10 hours cast net operation resulted 6-8kg of Penaeus monodon per person but it is decreased to 1-2 kg. Under-sized Penaeus monodon that were customarily released back to water previously are also now harvested as the catch is poor and labor expensive. The local lagoon fishermen were seriously suffered by the decreased in fish catch affecting the entire socio-economic profile of the society. Poverty started emerging where some fishermen left to alternative occupations even underpayments. Short electric fences around the farms killed thousands of ecologically important WaterMonitors and Otters that attempted to enter the farm for prawns. The farm guarders also involved in shooting Cormorants, an essential bird in aquatic food webs. The prawn industry heavily collapsed in 1996 due to viral diseases causing economical devastations to most of the middle-class investors. Hence now they are in debt and pawning their lands, boats and even homes. Some abandoned farms are now being converted in to human settles with land fillings increasing the pressure on lagoon associated natural resources.