thousands of dead fish on the shore, fishermen denounce the shrimp industry

Local people suspect that companies in the area are dumping harmful chemicals into the waters. Fishermen have been asking the authorities for days to intervene to find out what has caused the death of so many fish.

Colombo () – Thousands of fish have died in Sri Lankan lagoons where local fishermen work. The mortality began last Saturday, as they explained, and worsened the next day. Although the relevant authorities were informed of the incident, no action was taken, creating a disastrous situation for fishermen, who have long maintained that their work is already hampered by climate change.

“No official from the Ministry of Fisheries has yet come to see the situation for themselves. A large number of fishermen have been affected,” a fisherman from the Mundalama lagoon told .

Marthenu Fernando, president of the St. James Fisheries Society, stated that 'schools of fish were floating in the water and thousands were washed ashore up to three kilometers from the sea.' A situation that has affected at least 1,000 fishermen who depend directly on the lagoon for their subsistence.

According to environmental organizations, those responsible for the damage are shrimp farms, which release harmful chemicals into the surrounding waters. Prasanna Sanjeewa, a young fisherman, believes that the “malfunctioning of estuaries could also influence the death of fish, because there is no proper maintenance in this area.”

The smell of decomposing corpses spread to houses, schools and other buildings in the area, preventing various daily activities from being carried out. We don't know why the authorities didn't pay attention to our lagoon,” commented other local sources.

Ajith Gihan of the All Ceylon Public Fishermen's Federation, speaking to the media, also posed several questions to the local authorities: “Why is this happening to innocent fishermen? Why are the fish dying? What has happened? “What happened to the lagoon water? Why don't the authorities look for scientific reasons? There is a Ministry of Fisheries, a department and a special agency: why don't they examine this situation to protect people's livelihoods?”

Some local officials said they were aware of the incident and said they would conduct a formal investigation with the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency.