In its eighth bulletin, the Fisheries Research Station of Ceylon reports (page 32) that the first attempt at fish culture in the island was carried out at the Barawe fishery, where the fish trapped in flood ponds were fed for several weeks before capture. In 1908 an attempt was made to culture Etroplus sp. in ponds at Kalutare. The experiment failed.
Chinese and Indian carps were introduced in Ceylon during the 1940s. They did not establish themselves. Bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) were reintroduced in the late 1970s. They have achieved good growth in local reservoirs. The common carp (Cyprinus carpio) was introduced from China in 1948. It is reported to have established itself in some tanks1 at altitudes higher than a thousand feet in central Sri Lanka. Only small quantities are caught. Tilapia mossambica was introduced from East Africa in 1952. It soon established itself and is now the most important commercial species in inland waters. Etroplus suratensis has been transplanted from brackish into fresh water, and has become of importance to fisheries in a few areas.
In the fresh water sector the Ceylon fishery administration has concentrated on stocking major and minor tanks with fingerlings of carps and tilapia. FAO provided a fish culture expert in the early 1950s. He carried out extension surveys of potential species and culture sites. He also assisted in expanding and improving the Polonnaruwa fish culture station and in the breeding of common carp. During the middle of the 1970s, the stocking programme was supported by the construction of a number of fish culture stations.
In the mariculture field, effort focused on the possibility of culture of milkfish (Chanos chanos) and mullet (Mugil spp.), and surveys were carried out to establish availability of fry. The brackish water fish culture station at Pitipana, north of Colombo, was built in the early 1950s, and in the mid-1960s about half a dozen farmers in the vicinity were culturing milkfish in ponds. They have since stopped doing so; the reasons why have not been clearly established. The fisheries administration has continued the collection of milkfish fry for stocking in fresh water. Soon after its creation in 1964 the Ceylonese Fisheries Corporation constructed a brackish water farm at Mannar. The Corporation was unsuccessful in its attempt at brackish water fish farming and the farm is now derelict.
In 1977 the Government drew up a plan for fisheries development during the period 1979–83. The plan foresaw a rapid expansion of fish consumption: the average consumption was estimated at 11.3 kg per person for 1978 and the Government aims at close to 20 kg per person for 1983. The figures below are taken from “Master Plan for the Development of Fisheries in Sri Lanka, 1979–1983” prepared by the Ministry of Fisheries. They show the projected sources of fish supply in 1983.
| 1978 | 1983 | |
| Coastal fishing | 135 | 216 |
| Off-shore fishing | 3 | 32 |
| Deep-sea fishing | - | 2 |
| Inland fishing1 | 16 | 50 |
| Total | 154 | 300 |
The master plan is not explicit on how the 50 000 tons of ‘inland fish’ is going to be produced in 1983. It states, however, that with regard to brackish water culture, the present situation is such that it would be unrealistic to expect any “substantial production of fish from brackish water aquaculture in the period 1979–83”. It is felt though that it should be possible to achieve a strong base for subsequent development during this period.
The master plan does not specify the quantity of fish expected from the various types of fresh water bodies. It does say, however, that the sector suffers from the following constraints:
The planners, therefore, suggest a number of measures to improve the fishery of the major tanks. For development of fresh water aquaculture, the plan suggests:
The planners are aware that in the long run the quantity of wild fish available to a capture fishery is likely to decline, and as a result aquaculture can play an increasingly important role in the supply of fish to the island.
After the plan had been presented by the Ministry of Fisheries to the Cabinet, an interministerial committee was appointed to scrutinize the inland fisheries sector of the plan. They delivered their conclusions and recommendations in the form of a 23 page report. It states:
The Committee also made some recommendations concerning management of inland waters; marketing of inland fish; research; extension and training.
During the preparation and review of the master plan, different views were expressed on a number of central issues in aquaculture and its future role in Sri Lanka. A number of these could not be settled. The Ministry of Fisheries, therefore, invited the Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme (ADCP) to undertake a review of aquaculture development possibilities in Sri Lanka.
