Fishing industry in Sri Lanka has been in existence from time
immemmorial. The mechanization of the fishing industry in early
1960’s followed by other development programmes brought many
changes to this industry. However some of the traditional crafts
and gear are still in use in some areas. Traditionally, women
were involved either directly or indirectly in this industry
throughout the history. Although some of the traditional
activities of women in fishing or related industries have been
replaced by more modern techniques the involvement of women
remain almost unaltered due to. the opportunities created by such
developments compensating for the loss of opportunities in
traditional fishing caused by such developments.
The socio-economic aspect . of women in Sri Lanka is as in all
south east Asian Countries. This is more for women belonging to
the lower income groups where they are more or less a neglected
sector of the population. In observing the condition in the
fishing industry this situation in evident mainly due to the
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difficult and dangerous situations encountered by their spouses
or the supporting males in the family. Fisherman live in
communities close to the sea.. They earn their >lively hood by
fishing or carrying out other related work relevant to this
industry. Women play a. major role in these communities, where
they support the males in their family in fishing, traditional
processing and even marketing. Most of these fisher families are
controlled by a middleman who earn a much larger sum than the
fisherman who actually harvest the fish.This situation results in
the actual fisherman receiving only a meagre sum, but is always
dependent on the middleman who funds his fishing & living
expenses ,(etc.). Thus this situation creates a necessity for
women to support the males in these activities.