Socioeconomic perspective of ring-net fishery: Study in Galle fisheries District

Abstract

Ring net is a type of purse-seine used by multi-day vessels targeting underexploited fishery resources in the Indian Ocean. Inadequate comprehensive scientific records, which lead to a knowledge gap on the socioeconomic perspective of ring-net fishery in Galle District was the primary issue that identified. More precise data is needed to accurately assess the actual situation of the ring-net fishery. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate catch per unit effort, mean net income, mean cost of operation, and some demographic data including age, marital status, number of dependents, educational qualifications of fishers. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The study was conducted in the Galle fishery harbor from September 2021 to June 2022. Twenty percent of unloaded multiday vessels were randomly sampled weekly and categorized as landings only from ring-net, drift gillnet, or longline, and from all three methods. Approximately 87% of multiday vessels were operated only ring-net. They contributed 83% to the total fish production of Galle fishery harbor. Catch per unit effort in ring-net operations was 478.2 kg/boat/day. Annual mean net income was 22.04±0.33 million LKR and highest value was observed in ring-net only operations while the lowest in drift gillnet or longline operations (P<0.05). The annual operational cost was 7.968±0.08 million LKR and there was no significant difference among three mean cost values. Nearly 64% of boat owners have less than G.C.E. (Ordinary Level) educational qualifications and 95% were engaged in fishery as their only profession. Among skippers, 91% were married, 63% of which had more than four dependents in the family. Nearly 42% of skippers were above 40 and 13% was below 30 years old. Approximately 88% of skippers have more than 10 years of experience in the fisheries sector and 91% had below O/L education. This emphasized nearly 12% of skippers have recently joined and still there is a willingness in the community for this field. This would be due to high income of ring-net operations. These data can aid in managing social issues, strengthening regulations, and taking actions on healthcare, insurance, and economic management to improve the living status of fishers.