Present Status and Future Developmental Perspectives of Pole and Line Fishery in Sri Lanka

Pole and line fishery is one of the oldest traditional techniques employed in tuna fishing in the Indian Ocean including Sri Lanka, which is mainly targeted to exploit skipjack tuna. This fishery has fallen to a relatively low level of significance during the past three decades. The potentialities for the expansion of pole and line fishery in Sri Lanka are regained with the possible negative consequences allied with the drift gill net in the region. The present study attempts to understand the factors that hinder the practice of gear progressively in past decades while providing necessary recommendations for the future expansion of the fishery. Scarcity of Dipterygonotus balteatus (Redbait), the main live bait species used in the fishery is one of the main reasons documented in the literature. The present findings based on Dr Fridtjof Nansen survey in 2018 revealed that the resource is abundant in the waters but requires an efficient harvesting technique. The impediment factor which hindered the popularization of the fishery is the deficiency of free schools of skipjack tuna where more than 99% of the surface tuna were found to be concentrated beyond the fishing range of existing practices. The commercialization of pole and line fishery in Sri Lanka will be feasible primarily with the modernization of the fishery which includes vessel upgrades, introduction of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs), forecasting of free tuna schools, and efficient methods to harvest live bait and secondarily through proper awareness and skill development.