Abstract:
Kilinochchi district is well known for its abundance of multi-purpose reservoirs
used for agricultural activities and freshwater aquaculture. Despite their
abundance, no study has been conducted for the crucial information required for
the aquaculture development. Therefore, the current study focuses on the socio economic and livelihood status of fishermen which acts as the baseline information
for future development. Fishing communities were selected from the five major
reservoirs, namely Akkarayan, Vannery, Murippu, Premanthanaru, and Iranaimadu
in the Kilinochchi district using a structured questionnaire survey (184) to obtain
general and fish production related information. The study revealed that the
majority of fishermen (62.2–93.3%) were Hindus while Christians were recorded
at the range between 6.7–37.8% were from five reservoirs. 31–60% of the
fishermen belong to the age group between 35–45 years in all the reservoirs except
Iranaimadu, however younger fishermen (25–35 years) community (26%) has
been reported from Iranaimadu. About 83-100% of the fishermen from all
reservoirs were married, obtained at least primary or secondary education,
constructed fairly proper housing with sanitary facilities. Majority of the fishermen
(39–85%) has engaged with this sector after the year, 2010 except the Vannery
reservoir due to the civil conflict. In all reservoirs, 92.3–100% of fishermen has
directly engaged with the inland fishery as their major livelihood. Further, gillnet
(93.3–100%) is predominantly used for harvesting Indian carp and Tilapia and,
production is up to 100 kg and less than 5 kg per attempt during high yield season
(dry period) and off-season (rainy period) respectively. In Akkarayan, more than
86% of fishermen earn less than 10,000 LKR monthly while nearly 40,000 LKR per
month is the income of 60 % of fishermen in Premanthanaru. Inland fish production
shows relatively lower production due to the past civil war although inland fishery
plays a major role in rural employment in Kilinochchi. Sustainable fishery
management policies, effective stocking, technical, financial and, social support may
improve the livelihood of the fishers by, ultimately increasing the overall inland
fishery productivity in Kilinochchi District
