HOW TO DEVELOP SRI LANKA'S FISHING INDUSTRYINTRODUCTION1. Sri Lanka is a tropical island in the Indian Ocean and a lower-middle-income country with a population of nearly 20 million and is located in the southeast of the Indian subcontinent between latitudes 6 -100 N and longitudes 800 -820 E with land of approximately 65,610 km2. Most of the people are Sinhalese (74%) while the rest (26%) comprise Sri Lankan Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and others. Sri Lanka is a developing country after gaining independence from the British and also the island has been totally covered by the waters of the Indian Ocean. The fisheries sector has largely contributed to the economy of Sri Lanka. The coastal zone is 1,500 km2 and the exclusive economic zone is 517,000 km2. Sri Lanka has a huge maritime area for the fishing industry, in addition to the fact that freshwater fishing is carried out in tanks and inland locations in the country (Amarasinghe, 2001).2. There is evidence to show that all nationalities of the country: Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim have been engaging in fishing since ancient times using traditional equipment and methods. These methods were not changed as required by the modern world, due to lack of efficiency. The ancient fishing industry was limited only to rivers, streams, ponds, tanks etc. But the subsequent government, since independence in 1948, has accorded gr...... middle of paper ......1) Fisheries and Fisheries Development (Sinhala Version).Marata: Oska Amarasinghe,10 Thotupola Para, Kotuwa,Matara,Pp-1 & 2NADA by SL, National Aquaculture Development Authority of Sri Lankahttp://www.naqda.gov.lk/fish_production.phpAccessed on 25 April 14FSDS (2010-2013), Strategy fisheries sector development 2010-2013http://www.fisheries.gov.lk/doc_files/130625062842.pdf page 12 /13Accessed on 21 April 14FS(2013),Fisheries Statistics-2013http://www.fisheries.gov. lk/content.php?cnid=ststcAccessed April 21, 14BIBLIOGRAPHYArticlea. Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Ten-year framework of development policies, (2007).b. Sri Lanka Institute for Policy Studies, Fisheries Sector Analysis in Sri Lanka (2008).Websites. ftp://ftp.fao.orgb. www.fisheriesdept.gov.lkc. www.ips.lk