FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular No. 1063

Developing Fish Landing Centres: Experiences and Lessons from Sri Lanka

By

Simon Diffey

Abstract

A Significant amount of Coastal Infrastructure was damaged or destroyed by the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and the Livelihoods of many fisher families were adversely affected. While the reconstruction of the larger harbours and anchorages received priority from the donor community post-tsunami, the rehabilitation of the many landing centres developed at a slower pace.

Post –tsunami, FAO assisted with the preparation of a master plan for fisheries infrastructure rehabilitation and development. As part of this plan, a project was identified to support the longer-term objective of reconstructing and developing the inshore marine fisheries sector. This paper traces the experiences of project-restoration and Improvement of Fish Landing Centres with Stakeholder Participation in Management – the goal of which was to improve the livelihoods of fishers and midway through the project to include postconflict areas in the north of the country following the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka in mid-2009.

This paper documents the experience and lessons generated by the project, which it is hoped will serve as a source of information and inspiration for further work in the sustainable development of small-scale fishing communities and fish landing centres elsewhere. Attention focuses on the involvement of stakeholders, the practical aspects of the initial profiling and selection process for landing site development, and the importance of capacity development in ensuring sustainability of the project outcome. The methodology of the project with regard to infrastructure development, in particular the planning steps and procedures, the importance of the business planning process and training delivery, is discussed and the role of village-based institutions explored. The paper also provides an opportunity to present the comprehensive monitoring and evaluation process used by the project and introduced the use of a geographic information system as a management tool for the strategic planning of landing site development. The paper concludes with the lessons to be learned and a simple cost-benefit analysis of the infrastructure investment undertaken by the project.

Contents

<!--Project approach and methodology

<!--Planning infrastructure development

<!--Participation, livelihoods and capacity development

<!--Data management, monitoring and evaluation

<!--Lessons learned

Prep. / Ayman Ashry
Rev. / Asmaa Ahmed

Manage. / Zeinab Osman