FAO FISHERIES TECHNICAL PAPER 298
Reservoirs of Sri Lanka and their fisheries
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FAO FISHERIES TECHNICAL PAPER 298 Reservoirs of Sri Lanka and their fisheries |
Sena S. de Silva
Department of Zoology
University of Ruhuna
Matara, Sri Lanka
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M-43
ISBN 92-5-102735-8
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FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 1988
© FAO
PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT
This document is the result of on-going interest of the Working Party of Experts on Inland Fisheries of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Commission in the development and management of reservoir fisheries in the Indo-Pacific countries. It reviews the development of the inland fishery of Sri Lanka, where the introduction of the exotic cichlid, Oreochromis mossambicus, has led to an unprecedented growth in reservoir fish yields.
The following is a list of documents published by FAO which deal with reservoir fisheries management in the Indo-Pacific region, planning for inland fisheries under constraints from other users, and management strategies including stocking.
Baluyut, E.A., 1982 Assessment of problems in planning river basin development involving a hydroelectric scheme. FAO Fish.Circ., (753):24 p. Issued also in Spanish
Baluyut, E.A., 1983 Stocking and introduction of fish in lakes and reservoirs in the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries. FAO Fish.Tech.Pap., (236):82 p.
Baluyut, E.A., 1986 Planning for inland fisheries under constraints from other uses of land and water resources: general considerations and the Philippines. FAO Fish.Circ., (798):44 p.
Bhukaswan, T., 1980 Management of Asian reservoir fisheries. FAO Fish.Tech.Pap., (207):78 p.
Petr., T. (ed.), 1985 Inland fisheries in multi-purpose river basin planning and development in tropical Asian countries: three case studies. FAO Fish.Tech.Pap., (265):166 p.
Sreenivasan, A., 1986 Inland fisheries under constraints from other uses of land and water resources: Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. FAO Fish. Circ., (797):68 p.
| Distribution Author FAO Fisheries Department FAO Regional Fisheries Officers IPFC Selector SI | For bibliographic purposes this document should be cited as follows: De Silva, S.S.,1988 Reservoirs of Sri Lanka and their fisheries. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap., (298):128 p. |
| ABSTRACT |
Sri Lanka, a continental tropical island of
65,000 km2, is reputed for its ancient irrigation
reservoirs, constructed over the last 2000 years. The
island, which is devoid of natural lakes has 3 ha of
artificially created lentic waters for every km2. These
reservoirs are mostly confined to the dry zone which
receives less than 187 cm of rainfall per annum. |
The reservoirs vary in age, size, hydrology,
catchment characteristics and usage. In the perennial
reservoirs the development of fisheries is very recent
and is associated with the introduction of the cichlid
Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) in 1952. The inland
fishery yields approximately 27,000 to 30,000 tons
year-1 and the average production of the perennial
reservoirs is estimated to be 283 to 307 kg ha-1
year-1, with a range of 40 to 497 kg ha-1year-1,
based on natural recruitment of these fish stocks. |
The strategies for optimization of the yield
from perennial reservoirs are different from those for
seasonal reservoirs, which are small reservoirs that tend
to dry out for three to four months a year. The latter
group of reservoirs accounts for about 30% of the known
total reservoir surface area on the island, and fisheries
depends on regular stocking of fish, largely carps. |
This study reviews the development of the
fishery and its management and the biology of the
constituent species. The possibility of using the Sri
Lankan reservoir fishery as a model for tropical
reservoirs is discussed. |
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