Reported evidence of significant events in the fishing industry, such as the introduction of Pole and line fishery for tuna, to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Minicoy - Laccadive islands, by traders sailing between the Middle-east and the far-east, indicates that fishing was very active in Sri Lanka, even a couple of centuries ago. Sri Lankan, traditional fisheries concentrated primarily in the lagoons, estuaries and inshore waters but introduction of pole and line fishery (live-bait fishery) during that era, encouraged them to go into the deep-sea areas adjacent to the edge of the continental shelf, for tuna fish, with their large outrigger canoe. This also enabled them to take up to tuna longlininig also from these canoes, even before the motorization programme. Further, Sri Lankan fishermen have exhibited their enterprising qualities and their motivation by the ease with which they not only adapted to new technology but also by the initiative and motivation they have exhibited by their innovative fishing technological demonstrations.such as the pioneering use of large mesh syn­ thetic gillnet for catching tunas, combined operation of gillnet cum longline, venturing into the Oce­ anic ranges on small motorized crafts with significant endurance and the adoption of trammelnetting for shrimps . These fishermen have been responsible for the major progressive steps taken for the development of fisheries in the recent past.