Browsing by Author "Dhanasundara, I.P.T.P."

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    Present Status of the Marine Aquarium Fishery in the Eastern Coast of Sri Lanka
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Dhanasundara, I.P.T.P.; Thilakarathne, E.P.D.N.; Dias, P.C.B.; Egodauyana, K.P.U. T.; Malshani, P.K.T.
    Marine aquarium industry is a popular multimillionaire industry in the world and a considerable amount of global market is fulfilled by exporting from Sri Lanka since its beginning. Almost all marine ornamental species of Sri Lanka are collected from wild habitats which cause serious stock degradation of endemic and other marine species. The collection of marine ornaments has been establishing as a community-based industry on the Eastern coast of Sri Lanka due to high resource availability and accessibility compared to other regions; however, it is poorly documented. Therefore, a survey was designed to study the situation, threats, and issues of the industry on the East coast by using a questionnaire-based survey combined with field observations. Information was gathered from the collectors, suppliers, buyers, fisheries officers, and other relevant stakeholders. Almost 190 fish collectors and 15 suppliers are currently occupying during the southwestern monsoon period roughly from May to October in the Eastern coast. About 250 marine fish species (mainly butterflyfish, angelfish, damselfish, gobies, wrasses, surgeonfish, groupers, blennies & lionfish) and 50 marine invertebrate species (shrimps, Anemones, Sea Slugs & Sea lilies) are being collected mainly from Ottamavadi, Pasikudah, Kalkudah, Paul point, Adukkuparu, and Nilaweli reefs and rocky habitats. However, 01 - 05% of fish are discarding due to catching issues and 05 - 10% of caught fish are discarding due to improper handling, holding, and packing methods before reaching to local exporters. Dynamite fishing, overexploitation, fluctuations of price levels, mishandling of caught live forms, degradation of reef habitats due to natural and anthropogenic factors are the main identified threats so that the industry in the Eastern coast is certainly unsustainable. Therefore, it is highly recommended that a powerful management system should be rapidly established for the benefit of valuable marine ecosystems and the industry. Keywords: Marine ornamental fish, Reef fish, Color fish, Trincomalee, Batticaloa
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    Status of the Marine Ornaments Export Industry in Sri Lanka
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Dhanasundara, I.P.T.P.; Thilakarathne, E.P.D.N.; Dias, P.C.B.; Egodauyana, K.P.U. T.; Malshani, P. K. T.
    The marine aquarium industry in Sri Lanka has become a popular industry during the past few years. Exporters have shown an increasing trend for marine ornamental species exporting due to globally increased demand. Therefore, a study was designed to assess the present situation of the marine ornamental industry in Sri Lanka. Pretested questionnairebased survey with visual observations of the exporting process was conducted by selecting 30 leading marine ornaments exporting companies to assess the situation of the industry. Export data that were gathered from Sri Lanka Customs were analyzed using descriptive analysis methods. The analysis figured that approximately 611,310 marine fish individuals in 2017 and 459,425 individuals in 2018 have been exported from Sri Lanka. Thus, 151,885 individuals of prominent decrease have been observed in exporting marine ornamental fish due to the reduction of fish catch from the wild. However, a prominent growth (49,468) has been observed in exporting marine invertebrates as 105,750 individuals in 2017 and 155,218 individuals in 2018. These ornamentals have the highest demand in the USA (336,452) followed by Japan (143,497) and UK (25,386). As per the regions, the North American region had the highest demand for marine fish approximately 406,470 individuals totally in both years and followed by the North Asian region by exporting 290,916 individuals. Family Gobidae (21.6%) was the most demanded fish family in the export market followed by family Serranidae (11.7%) Acanthuridae (10.7%), and Labridae (7.7%). Most demanded invertebrate family was Hippolitidae (83.9%) followed by family Rhynchocinedae (9.0%). However, these targeting particular species in wild capture fishery may highly affect to collapse the balance of Sri Lankan reef ecosystems. Therefore, suitable strategies should be immediately implemented to fulfill the huge demand in the exporting market while sustainably utilizing natural resources. Keywords: Marine aquarium fishery, Wild catch, Reef fish