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| Pics by Rukshan Abeywansha |
Sri Lanka Divers Society’s plea to save coastal environment
There is nothing quite like watching fish wiggle in water. Although keeping ornamental fish may seem pitiful, ornamental fishing is one of the major sources of income for divers. The extent of the Sri Lankan Territorial Sea is reported to be 21,500 sq. km. A multitude of tropical fish, magnificently colorful coral reefs and fascinating ship wrecks, hidden in the waters of the great blue ocean can be explored at several locations off the coasts. This has been one of the major reasons that make Sri Lanka a major tourist attraction. But unlike the tourists who visit Sri Lanka in search of great diving spots these ‘ornamental fish divers’ dive, day in and day out, to make a living.
According to these divers ornamental fishing is the fifth largest income earner for the country. Yet they claim that the government has not paid heed to their woes. “We are doing a very risky job,” Nihal, a professional diver who was getting ready to go out to sea for skin-diving (snorkeling) said. Nihal is one of the members of the Sri Lanka Divers Society in Dehiwala. Members of the society gather in their small hut facing the sea almost every day, early in the morning.
When the divers are confident that the weather is safe to dive they prepare their equipment. Fishing nets, gun (a tool which they use to catch large fish beneath the sea), plastic bags (to collect fish), oxygen tanks and few buckets (to bring back the fish) comprise their equipment. When the equipment is ready and when the diver is in his suit they set off. Rumantha, Nihal’s brother-in-law, was also ready to go scuba diving. His helper, Jayantha and a few others helped them push their boat off the shore.
Almost all the divers, except the helpers and guides who have retired, had toned bodies with abs (Abdominal muscles) straight out of a fitness magazine. Once the boat was pushed a few feet, Rumantha and Jayantha jumped into the boat. Jayantha waited for a big wave to start the engine which was previously checked for malfunctions. The boat eased off the shore. They prepared to anchor at the nearest reef. “Wind is a bit high today, so we are not planning to go any further,” Rumantha said while helping Jayantha to anchor. “There are days where we cannot sail at all because of bad (troublesome) weather. We can’t earn anything those days,” he managed to explain while throwing the anchor. It was noticeable that Rumantha and Jayantha were always at the opposite sides of the boat. “The balance of the boat is the most important thing if you don’t want the boat to capsize,” Jayantha explained.
Then
the time came for Rumantha to dive. As he was already in his suit, the
tight black swim suit, fins, gloves, oxygen mask, the regulator (that
indicated the oxygen level of the tank) and the oxygen tank. He had the
plastic bags strapped to his belt with fishing nets in one hand.
Pressing the oxygen mask in the other hand against his face he dived
into the deep sea. “I can trail him with the oxygen bubbles. Sometimes
he dives down to 45 feet,” Jayantha said pointing at the air bubbles.
The boat bobbed up and down with the waves.
“We dive only six months of the year. Diving season in this area is from October to March or April. It differs with the weather. When we can’t dive here we go to the East coast. There are some divers who go to the Maldives, Australia or Middle East countries during off season,” Jayantha said lighting a cigarette in the middle of the sea. There were four more oxygen tanks in the boat. Jayantha explained that the time it took to exhaust an oxygen tank differed from 20 to 60 minutes according to the depth of the diver. “He can see the oxygen level from the regulator in his hand. He knows when he should come up,” Jayantha said.
About 40 minutes later, Rumantha was ready to come up with the fish he collected. Jayantha started the engine again and followed the air bubbles to track him. Rumantha, still in the water, handed over the bags filled with fish to Jayantha. He then boarded the boat and removed the masks and the oxygen tank. Once the oxygen tank was replaced, he was ready for the second round.
After repeating the process four or five times, they were ready to return home. Once the boat reached the shore, the boys there came to help them pull the boat ashore. They carried the buckets filled with beautiful multicolored fish to the collectors. “There are several places collecting fish nearby. We sell our fish and they will sell them to the big companies that export them. We know that the big companies pay them a lot. But we don’t get much for the fish. Maximum for a fish is about Rs 400. Intermediates are the ones who earn the most from this,” lamented another diver who was resting at the hut after a dive.
All the divers gather at this hut after they return from sea. They share their experiences of the day, play a game of Carom and have cup of tea before they return home. Unity among the society provides the strength their challenging and often dangerous job requires. Sri Lanka Divers Society is a society registered under the Corporative Act with over 200 members.
President of the society, S.A Mahinda Silva spoke to The Nation about the challenges they face. “We have minimum job security. Only we know the dangers and risks of diving.”
According
to them, the sudden loss of oxygen is probably the biggest threat. A
diver’s oxygen tank can suddenly lose pressure, get damaged or even get
lost. If that happens the diver must immediately resurface, or he is in
danger of drowning. “Some times the helpers loose track of the diver.”
Quite recently they had lost track of a diver. “Six boats went in search
of him immediately after his boat informed us. Fortunately he was found
near the Mount Lavonia Hotel. He had swum more than 11 nautical miles
to get there. There were hundreds of people gathered at the shore to
welcome him,” Mahinda recalled.
Another danger that divers face on a daily basis is the bends disease (Decompression Disease). Submerging or surfacing too rapidly can create bubbles in the tissues. This can wreak havoc in the circulatory system. The bends can be deadly if they are not properly tended to immediately. “There isn’t any medicine for bends in our hospitals. Some hospitals haven’t even heard of this disease,” Nihal drew our attention to Somasiri. Somasiri’s left leg has been paralyzed due to bends. R M S Somasiri, who started diving when he was 18 has been suffering from bends disease since 2000. “There is treatment for this in the Trincomalee Navy camp. But it is very hard for us to get,” he lamented.
They also complained about the coastal and sea pollution which has become a major threat to fish breeding areas. “There are few places where drainage water is released to the sea without proper standards. Plastic and polythene are destroying the coral reefs, also the water coming from the rivers,” another member of the society said. “The big foreign ships are another problem. The coral reefs get destroyed when they anchor.” Coral reefs in Buddigala, Guruwangala, Pitigala and Athangulpita are under the greatest threat according to them. They have informed National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), asking them to clean the coastal areas. Yet they haven’t responded to any of their letters.
“We don’t have a proper insurance system. Even the pension scheme for the divers is not satisfactory.” They explained that they had to face trying times after the tsunami. “It destroyed everything. We were promised compensation and equipment at the time. But we never received them. I still have the coupon they issued saying that I will be receiving some equipment,” another member complained. “And we are not entitled to any of the government compensation as we are not from the rural society; they are forcing us to become part of the rural society. But we will have better unity and strength if we are an all island society,” he added.
According to them there is no responsible authority over them. “We don’t need any compensation. We don’t need a special designated day for the divers. We just need them to help us to secure our jobs and our families,” they claimed. If the government takes proper action, we can save this beautiful environment. If it is properly done we will be able to earn a lot from exporting ornamental fish and also from tourism. Please take immediate action to safeguard the coastal environment and also our jobs,” it was their final plea.
December 2, 2012
Link : http://www.nation.lk/edition/fine/item/13007-fishing-in-troubled-waters.html?tmpl=component&print=1
There is nothing quite like watching fish wiggle in water. Although keeping ornamental fish may seem pitiful, ornamental fishing is one of the major sources of income for divers. The extent of the Sri Lankan Territorial Sea is reported to be 21,500 sq. km. A multitude of tropical fish, magnificently colorful coral reefs and fascinating ship wrecks, hidden in the waters of the great blue ocean can be explored at several locations off the coasts. This has been one of the major reasons that make Sri Lanka a major tourist attraction. But unlike the tourists who visit Sri Lanka in search of great diving spots these ‘ornamental fish divers’ dive, day in and day out, to make a living.
According to these divers ornamental fishing is the fifth largest income earner for the country. Yet they claim that the government has not paid heed to their woes. “We are doing a very risky job,” Nihal, a professional diver who was getting ready to go out to sea for skin-diving (snorkeling) said. Nihal is one of the members of the Sri Lanka Divers Society in Dehiwala. Members of the society gather in their small hut facing the sea almost every day, early in the morning.
When the divers are confident that the weather is safe to dive they prepare their equipment. Fishing nets, gun (a tool which they use to catch large fish beneath the sea), plastic bags (to collect fish), oxygen tanks and few buckets (to bring back the fish) comprise their equipment. When the equipment is ready and when the diver is in his suit they set off. Rumantha, Nihal’s brother-in-law, was also ready to go scuba diving. His helper, Jayantha and a few others helped them push their boat off the shore.
Almost all the divers, except the helpers and guides who have retired, had toned bodies with abs (Abdominal muscles) straight out of a fitness magazine. Once the boat was pushed a few feet, Rumantha and Jayantha jumped into the boat. Jayantha waited for a big wave to start the engine which was previously checked for malfunctions. The boat eased off the shore. They prepared to anchor at the nearest reef. “Wind is a bit high today, so we are not planning to go any further,” Rumantha said while helping Jayantha to anchor. “There are days where we cannot sail at all because of bad (troublesome) weather. We can’t earn anything those days,” he managed to explain while throwing the anchor. It was noticeable that Rumantha and Jayantha were always at the opposite sides of the boat. “The balance of the boat is the most important thing if you don’t want the boat to capsize,” Jayantha explained.
Then
the time came for Rumantha to dive. As he was already in his suit, the
tight black swim suit, fins, gloves, oxygen mask, the regulator (that
indicated the oxygen level of the tank) and the oxygen tank. He had the
plastic bags strapped to his belt with fishing nets in one hand.
Pressing the oxygen mask in the other hand against his face he dived
into the deep sea. “I can trail him with the oxygen bubbles. Sometimes
he dives down to 45 feet,” Jayantha said pointing at the air bubbles.
The boat bobbed up and down with the waves.“We dive only six months of the year. Diving season in this area is from October to March or April. It differs with the weather. When we can’t dive here we go to the East coast. There are some divers who go to the Maldives, Australia or Middle East countries during off season,” Jayantha said lighting a cigarette in the middle of the sea. There were four more oxygen tanks in the boat. Jayantha explained that the time it took to exhaust an oxygen tank differed from 20 to 60 minutes according to the depth of the diver. “He can see the oxygen level from the regulator in his hand. He knows when he should come up,” Jayantha said.
About 40 minutes later, Rumantha was ready to come up with the fish he collected. Jayantha started the engine again and followed the air bubbles to track him. Rumantha, still in the water, handed over the bags filled with fish to Jayantha. He then boarded the boat and removed the masks and the oxygen tank. Once the oxygen tank was replaced, he was ready for the second round.
After repeating the process four or five times, they were ready to return home. Once the boat reached the shore, the boys there came to help them pull the boat ashore. They carried the buckets filled with beautiful multicolored fish to the collectors. “There are several places collecting fish nearby. We sell our fish and they will sell them to the big companies that export them. We know that the big companies pay them a lot. But we don’t get much for the fish. Maximum for a fish is about Rs 400. Intermediates are the ones who earn the most from this,” lamented another diver who was resting at the hut after a dive.
All the divers gather at this hut after they return from sea. They share their experiences of the day, play a game of Carom and have cup of tea before they return home. Unity among the society provides the strength their challenging and often dangerous job requires. Sri Lanka Divers Society is a society registered under the Corporative Act with over 200 members.
President of the society, S.A Mahinda Silva spoke to The Nation about the challenges they face. “We have minimum job security. Only we know the dangers and risks of diving.”
According
to them, the sudden loss of oxygen is probably the biggest threat. A
diver’s oxygen tank can suddenly lose pressure, get damaged or even get
lost. If that happens the diver must immediately resurface, or he is in
danger of drowning. “Some times the helpers loose track of the diver.”
Quite recently they had lost track of a diver. “Six boats went in search
of him immediately after his boat informed us. Fortunately he was found
near the Mount Lavonia Hotel. He had swum more than 11 nautical miles
to get there. There were hundreds of people gathered at the shore to
welcome him,” Mahinda recalled.Another danger that divers face on a daily basis is the bends disease (Decompression Disease). Submerging or surfacing too rapidly can create bubbles in the tissues. This can wreak havoc in the circulatory system. The bends can be deadly if they are not properly tended to immediately. “There isn’t any medicine for bends in our hospitals. Some hospitals haven’t even heard of this disease,” Nihal drew our attention to Somasiri. Somasiri’s left leg has been paralyzed due to bends. R M S Somasiri, who started diving when he was 18 has been suffering from bends disease since 2000. “There is treatment for this in the Trincomalee Navy camp. But it is very hard for us to get,” he lamented.
They also complained about the coastal and sea pollution which has become a major threat to fish breeding areas. “There are few places where drainage water is released to the sea without proper standards. Plastic and polythene are destroying the coral reefs, also the water coming from the rivers,” another member of the society said. “The big foreign ships are another problem. The coral reefs get destroyed when they anchor.” Coral reefs in Buddigala, Guruwangala, Pitigala and Athangulpita are under the greatest threat according to them. They have informed National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), asking them to clean the coastal areas. Yet they haven’t responded to any of their letters.
“We don’t have a proper insurance system. Even the pension scheme for the divers is not satisfactory.” They explained that they had to face trying times after the tsunami. “It destroyed everything. We were promised compensation and equipment at the time. But we never received them. I still have the coupon they issued saying that I will be receiving some equipment,” another member complained. “And we are not entitled to any of the government compensation as we are not from the rural society; they are forcing us to become part of the rural society. But we will have better unity and strength if we are an all island society,” he added.
According to them there is no responsible authority over them. “We don’t need any compensation. We don’t need a special designated day for the divers. We just need them to help us to secure our jobs and our families,” they claimed. If the government takes proper action, we can save this beautiful environment. If it is properly done we will be able to earn a lot from exporting ornamental fish and also from tourism. Please take immediate action to safeguard the coastal environment and also our jobs,” it was their final plea.
December 2, 2012
Link : http://www.nation.lk/edition/fine/item/13007-fishing-in-troubled-waters.html?tmpl=component&print=1
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