Livelihood status of the fishing community of Mahakanadarawa reservoir in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Mahakanadarawa reservoir located in Anuradhapura is one of the major, perennial reservoirs in Sri Lanka, extending over 1,457 ha. It provides livelihood opportunities through fisheries, irrigation for agriculture, and fostering economic growth in the surrounding region. Yet the fisheries-based livelihoods of the Mahakanadarawa reservoir have not been fully assessed. Hence, this study investigated the fishery and fisher profile of the reservoir. Primary data were collected from eight landing sites. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to interview 72 fishermen using a mixed method. Main variables including social, human, physical, natural, and financial capitals, fishery profile, fish and fisheries-based post-harvesting techniques, market chain analysis, and fisheries management practices, catch per unit effort for the gillnet fishery were calculated. Secondary data including stocking fish fingerlings and species-wise harvesting data for the past 10 years were collected from the district aquaculture extension office (Anuradhapura) of the NAQDA. A secondary study on the length-weight relationship of Oreochromis niloticus along with its condition factor value was performed. It was revealed that O. niloticus had negative allometric fish growth (b = 2.6667) with a condition factor value of 1.9092. The female fish had a higher mean total length compared to the male fish. In the fishing community, 95.83% of males and 4.17% of females were engaged in fishery activities. Mainly gill nets and non-mechanized fiberglass canoes were used for fishing. The average CPUE was 0.000339 kgm-2day-1. A strong positive (r =0.841) correlation was reported for fish stocking and fish production. Fish smoking and sun drying were the common fish processing techniques. The fish supply chain targeted the regional market. A cooperative level co-management system was identified among the reservoir fishing community. The current study discloses the livelihood capitals of the fishing community along with the existing supply chain which can be utilized for the sustainable management strategy of the Mahakanadarawa reservoir in the long run.