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Sea cucumber projects: Fishermen lament over losing opportunities

14 Aug 2021

  • Chinese projects block areas in northern seas: Northern fishermen
  • Total of 650 sea cucumber projects currently under consideration
  • Except Ariyalai project, rest are operated by local fishermen: NAQDA
By Maheesha Mudugamuwa Fishing communities in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka have been severely affected in many ways over the past several decades, from facing the 30-year war to encroachment by Indian fishermen. They are now facing yet another hurdle due to the alleged increase in Chinese projects that have encroached on their fishing opportunities in the seas off the coast of the province. As alleged by the fishermen in the North, the Chinese presence and involvement in the fishing industry in their seas has now posed a huge threat to their fishing opportunities, including the lucrative sea cucumber business. Allegations have been levelled against the Chinese sea cucumber hatchery in East Ariyalai, Jaffna, which is one of the two hatcheries currently operating in Sri Lanka. The National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA)-supervised SL Aquatech International Company is the other hatchery that commenced commercial seed production of sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra), which is the first sea cucumber hatchery in Sri Lanka. “The seas we have been fishing in have now been encroached by the Chinese. They have even been allocated separate areas by blocking us from fishing. They are particularly engaging in sea cucumber farming, but it affects our livelihood,” said P. Subramaniam, a 53-year-old fisherman in Jaffna, speaking to The Sunday Morning. He said the Chinese investment in sea cucumber had prevented them from engaging in the same and resulted in them losing a lucrative opportunity. “This is our sea and why are the authorities giving permission to some other country to exploit our resources,” he questioned. Explaining the situation of the northern fishing communities further, Subramanian said: “We have been affected severely by a 30-year war. We lost our industry and after the end of the war, we began step by step to build our livelihoods while suffering from the Indian encroachment as well.” He went on to say that the fishermen were yet to explore the opportunities in the northern seas, for which they said they needed the support of the Government as well. “We were hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead of supporting us, the authorities are trying to bring down foreign investments and are giving our resources to them. This is not fair,” he stressed. The country’s sea cucumber industry is presently confined to the northern cap, from Kalpitiya on the north-western coast through the Puttalam islands around the Gulf of Mannar, Trincomalee, Pottuvil, and Kalmunai in the northeast and eastern coastal waters of Sri Lanka. These have been the major sea cucumber fishing areas since it was introduced to Sri Lanka. Sea cucumbers are a delicacy and popular traditional food in East and Southeast Asia, especially in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan, and they are also used in traditional Chinese medicine and regarded a specialty product that falls within the same niche market as other high-value luxury seafood products such as shark fin, fish maw, and abalone. Sea cucumbers are commercially exploited worldwide and the production has expanded in both catch and value worldwide during the recent decades. In the 1980s, sea cucumbers fetched less than £ 50 (Rs. 14,000) a kilogramme; now, prices have risen to more than £ 200 (Rs. 56,000) a kilogramme, with rarer species valued at more than £ 2,500 (Rs. 700,000) a kilogramme. However, when contacted by The Sunday Morning, NAQDA Assistant Director – Coastal (Northern Province) B. Nirooparaj said there were a total of 650 sea cucumber projects in consideration in Kilinochchi, Jaffna, and Mannar in the Northern Province at present, of which a number of projects have already commenced operations with conditional approval received from the relevant authorities including NAQDA, the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department, the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the relevant divisional secretariats or local government bodies. He clarified that except the Chinese investment on the hatchery in Ariyalai, all other sea cucumber fishing projects were operated by local fishermen, especially those in the Northern Province. “There are a total of 650 projects under consideration in Kilinochchi, Jaffna, and Mannar. Around 300 have already been licensed with other supportive documents and clearance to confirm that there is no impediment for fisheries activities, as well as divisional secretariats’ clearance for the utilisation of the relevant water portion,” he said, adding that the rest of the 350 projects are currently being processed. Explaining the licensing process, the NAQDA Assistant Director said: “If a person comes and applies for sea cucumber farming, we inspect the site to see whether the site is suitable and then conduct a technical feasibility study. Once we confirm the technical feasibility, we call all other relevant departments for a joint inspection, including the Coast Conservation Department, the Fisheries Department, and divisional secretaries. “In some other areas, when they are under the Urban Development Authority (UDA) or are governed by an urban council/local authorities, we call them too. After the field inspection report, we take it into account for further documentation. If all authorities approve, they can submit the documents for processing,” Nirooparaj added. According to him, following the inspection, the authorities mark the sea portion by Google co-ordinates and give it to the investor, asking them to submit the necessary documents for further processing. He went on to explain the nature of sea cucumber farming in Sri Lanka at present, noting: “We have only two hatcheries in Sri Lanka. Therefore, juvenile collection is happening. That’s why farmers are collecting wild sea cucumber juveniles of 80 g. That is happening at nearly 70-75% of the total density. The balance is purchased through hatcheries.” As learnt by The Sunday Morning, there is an especially good demand for Sri Lankan sea cucumber in China. As per statistics available with NAQDA, the country exported a total of 300 MT of sea cucumber last year. However, the demand for Sri Lankan sea cucumbers is around 10,000 MT per year. Accordingly, more than 90% of the total sea cucumber harvest is currently being exported to China, with very small quantities sent to markets in Hong Kong and Singapore. The price of a kilogramme of sea cucumber in the Chinese market varies from Rs. 25,000-50,000, which makes the sea cucumber business a lucrative business in Sri Lanka at present. It is the Australian sea cucumber producers who are currently competing with the quality of local production; quantity-wise, Sri Lanka has several competitors such as Indonesia and the Philippines. When queried about the prices, Nirooparaj said: “The price depends on the pieces bearing in one kilogramme. If 50 pieces bear one kilogramme, it is worth above Rs. 25,000; if a kilo bears 30 pieces, that is worth about Rs. 30,000. If a kilo bears less than 20-25 pieces, it’s worth above Rs. 30,000.” According to him, the reason for high demand for locally produced sea cucumbers in China is because the seas off the coast of the Northern Province had not yet been identified as polluted areas due to the low prevalence of industries in the region. Yet, The Sunday Morning learnt that the country had no specific brand for the local production, despite it’s being in operation since 2012. The mega-scale operations had begun in late 2018.

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