A rationale for introducing a subsidiary fishery in tropical reservoirs and lakes to augment inland fish production: case study from Sri Lanka

Abstract

An extra 30–40 million tonnes of food fish will be

required by 2050 to meet the increasing need for a growing

population. In the wake of plateauing of the traditional food

fish supplies from marine capture fisheries, the gap in the

supplies will have to be met from aquaculture and other plau- sible strategies, including increased inland fish production.

The existing fisheries in tropical reservoirs and lakes tradition- ally tend to target only table-sized fish, often exotics and/or

translocated species, using a single type of gear, mostly gill

nets. In such fisheries, many small indigenous species (SIS)

are unexploited due to the prohibition of the use of

suitable fishing gear. The status of fisheries for small,

indigenous species of four Sri Lankan reservoirs was

investigated with a view to identifying regulatory con- straints to the establishment of SIS fisheries without

adversely impacting existing commercial fisheries. It is

estimated that a potential of 7.5 t per fisher per annum

of SIS through the introduction of a new fishery is

obtainable. This study is significant as SIS are recog- nized as important sources of essential macro- and

micronutrients which can play a crucial role in combating

malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in rural popula- tions of many South and Southeast Asian countries.