Since the Tsunami of 26th December devastated the coastal areas of Sri Lanka, the worst hit by this disaster, were the fishermen who lost their homes, craft, nets and fishing gear. A wide variety of fishing craft were used by them. It is imperative that a thorough survey and study be made of their losses before we begin our work of rehabilitation.

About 60 years ago, before the advent of fiberglass, all our fishing craft were made of wood. Tall and straight trees of immense girth were selected from our jungles and felled. Dugout canoes were hollowed out of these tree trunks by specialized carpenters called "oru-baasunnehes". The outrigger canoe was a work of art using tried and tested traditional technology. Different types of trees and woods were used for the different parts of the canoe and the long handled oars. Today, however, the vast majority of fishing craft are made of fiberglass — a good thing really, since our denuded forests have very few large, tall, straight trees suitable for canoe-making — which is a laborious time consuming art. Some of the better-known fishing craft are listed below.

Well equipped with cabin and cold room, mostly used for deep-sea, long-line fishing.. could spend about a week at sea. The catch is stored in the cold-room and brought ashore for sale.

These have no cold-rooms. They go out in the morning and return by late evening, or go out in the evening, fish the whole night and return by morning.

A very popular craft seen all over Sri Lanka’s coasts, manned by a crew of two or three, used for net or line fishing. Also used for taking tourists and holiday makers on boat rides and river- safaris.

Broad-bottomed outrigger canoes fitted with out board motors used for deep-sea net Fishing at night. They go for big-game like shark, skate, marlin, tuna, seer, and sail fish.

Narrow-bellied outrigger canoes with out board motors. They carry a crew of five mostly line- fishing using as bait, live prawns supplied by river fishermen.

Smaller canoes rowed out to sea by a crew of two or three fishermen. They do not go far out.

Flat-bottomed large canoes with no outrigger. They carry the large, heavy drag-nets to encircle shoals of small fish (e.g. sprats) which are drawn ashore by two teams which haul the two ends of the net slowly, rhythmically — a common sight on Lanka’s shores.

A simple raft of four suitably shaped logs tied together used for net fishing by one or two fishermen traditionally made of lunumidella logs but now made of fiberglass.

Many fishing craft were swept ashore by the Tsunami and smashed into smithereens. Some capsized, some were damaged beyond repair, while some were slightly damaged and could be made seaworthy after minor repairs. The survey should ascertain What type of craft the fishermen used and the type of fishing they were engaged in — net fishing or line fishing, so that they could be supplied with the appropriate equipment needed by them for earning their living.

There are nets and nets. The most expensive are the large drag nets used for offshore fishing. Two important factors that pertain to nets are the mesh-size and the "ply" or nylon string. Fishermen who catch small use nets of mesh size one to two inches and two to four "ply" string, while those who go deep sea for big game use nets of mesh size 5-6 inches with tough thick 25-30 ply nylon string. Understandably, the larger the mesh size and the ply, the costlier the net.

The survey and the assessment of the damage and loss suffered by fishermen should be thorough and fast. Providing the means of livelihood is more urgent than building houses. Therefore, immediate help should be given to fishermen whose damaged craft could be made seaworthy after quick, minor repairs. If we provide nets, lines and other fishing gear they could resume fishing without delay. Craft damaged beyond repair need to be replaced, but we have to work in collaboration with the Fisheries Ministry and interested NGOs in order to make sure that bona fide fishermen are helped meaningfully and we do not duplicate the work of others.

Traditionally, most fishermen lived on the beach in small cadjan huts. With the use of modern fishing techniques their incomes increased and life style improved. They have been moving inland into more permanent homes with cement floors- brick walls, doors-windows and tiled roofs. They acquired appropriate status-symbols like radio cassette players, TV sets and motor cycles. Before we rush into housing we should liaise with the Housing Ministry and apprise ourselves of the Government’s plans for Housing and Relocation of the displaced, lest we build unauthorized houses on unauthorized locations. However, immediate steps should be taken to provide temporary shelters to get the displaced families and persons out of the refugee camp environment; give them a modicum of privacy, and a place to keep their few belongings. They should also be provided with potable water, cooking utensils, dry rations and cooking facilities, so that they could cook their own meals and manage their affairs until houses are built for them.