A great resource

Anyone with even a passing interest in geography knows the size of Sri Lanka’s landmass (65,610 sq km), but only a very few people know the extent of the ocean that we can call our own.

Sri Lanka can claim an ocean area seven times its geographical size, but it will soon ‘inherit’ an ocean area (territorial waters) 23 times the size of its landmass. This is a vast area by any means.

The question is whether we are in a position to make the maximum use of such an enormous ocean area, when we are striving to make the full use of even the existing area with the limited resources at our disposal.

Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Felix Perera has gone on record saying the expansion would result in the present fish harvest being multiplied several fold.

The authorities and the fisheries industry should make plans for this expansion now itself. One of the primary steps is the expansion and improvement of fisheries harbours. Steps are already being taken in this direction as seen by Thursday’s commissioning of the new fisheries harbour in Mirissa.

Bigger fisheries harbours will enable more, bigger boats to be anchored. Related infrastructure such as ice plants, canning plants and cold rooms should also be improved at the same time to make the maximum use of the anticipated bigger catch.

The assistance of foreign donors will be welcome in this endeavour - we note that USAID funded the Mirissa fisheries harbour.

One of the foremost requirements will be bigger multi-day boats and trawlers which can traverse a larger ocean area. It is no secret that foreign fishing fleets plunder the fish resources in our ocean limits even now and this could worsen with a much bigger area.

Sri Lankan fishermen must therefore be encouraged to go in for bigger vessels with all mechanised aids. Yesterday we published a story on Tamil Nadu equipping its fishing boats with Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment to facilitate tracking, distress calls etc and the same should be considered for our boats.

It goes without saying that a Coastguard Service will deter such foreign vessels from encroaching our seas. Moves have been afoot to establish a Coastguard Service for some time and we are not aware of any further progress in this regard.

One cannot expect the Navy to fulfil this role, as its resources are fully utilised for fighting the LTTE and protecting the country’s sovereignty. A separate Coastguard Service is therefore essential to protect our seas especially in the Southern parts.

Another issue that is likely to persist concerns Indian and Lankan fishermen entering each other’s territory. This is an issue as old as time and both countries have worked with understanding with regard to fishermen apprehended in either country’s waters. It was only on Thursday that India released five Lankan fishermen apprehended from the ocean off Chennai.

The issue has serious security implications for both India and Sri Lanka, with the LTTE known to use fishing vessels for gun running and human trafficking. Coordinated patrols by Indian and Sri Lankan Navies could be one answer.

The expanded ocean area is not all about fish resources.

There are other marine resources that we will be able to exploit, including oil, sea sand and minerals. Sri Lanka has already started the oil exploration process - a contract was recently signed with an Indian company for the oil quest in the Mannar Basin.

The authorities should now consider the viability of expanding the search to include the newly available territorial waters as well. If all goes well, Sri Lanka should be extracting ‘Black Gold’ just three years from now. That will be a huge boost to the economy as it will help cut down oil imports, a drain on foreign exchange reserves.

Many other countries are also extracting sea sand and other minerals and Sri Lanka should explore this possibility as well after gaining the additional sea area.

Sri Lanka stands to benefit immensely from the proposed expansion of territorial waters under its command and all relevant authorities should begin drawing up their plans on utilising this vast resource now.