By Maheesha Mudugamuwa
Investigations have been launched by the National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA) into an alleged sea cucumber farm operated by a Chinese national in Puwarasan Island, Kilinochchi. 
Clarifying that no foreign national engages in aquaculture farming in Sri Lankan waters directly without having entered into a joint venture, the Authority stressed that an investigation would be conducted to look into whether the project was approved by the Authority, and if so, whether the project is adhering to the approved conditions.
The investigation was recently initiated following concerns raised by the residents in Poovarasan Island, claiming they should have been provided the opportunity to engage in harvesting sea cucumber, which is considered a delicacy, instead of allowing foreigners to come and exploit local resources.
They alleged that the authorities have given almost all opportunities to the private sector without providing them with the necessary technical knowhow to engage in sea cucumber farming or any other related aquaculture or fish farming industry in the area.
“We have more than 50 years of experience in the fisheries industry, and if we were given the opportunity, we could have carried it out perfectly,” a resident in Poovarasan Island said.
The beche-de-mer industry in Sri Lanka is very ancient, having been introduced by the Chinese.
In Sri Lanka, sea cucumber fishery is presently confined to the northern cap stretching from Kalpitiya on the northwestern coast through the Puttalam Islands around the Gulf of Mannar, Trincomalee, Pottuvil, and Kalmunei in the northeastern and eastern coastal waters. These are the major sea cucumber fishing areas since it was introduced to the country.
Sea cucumber is a delicacy and popular traditional food in Southeast Asia, especially in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan, and they are also used in traditional Chinese medicine and regarded as a specialty product that falls within the same niche market as other high-value luxury seafood products such as shark fin, fish maw, and abalone.
However, recent concerns regarding sea cucumber farming erupted, as it was revealed that a Chinese national was carrying out farming in the Puwarasan Island, allegedly without proper approval from the relevant authorities.
Nevertheless, as learnt by The Sunday Morning, this Chinese farming site was not a single-owned Chinese company but a joint venture with a local company, for which the NAQDA has issued a license in 2016.
However, it was not clear whether the license had been issued for conducting sea cucumber farming or engaging in sea cucumber breeding, or whether the farming site is actually engaged in breeding or farming on-site.
When queried on the matter, an official attached to the NAQDA in Kilinochchi, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Sunday Morning that the Chinese company was engaged in sea cucumber breeding on-site and the initial task was to supply enough sea cucumber hatchlings to around 300 sea cucumber farms in the Northern Province.
The officer, however, wasn’t aware of the conditions of the license issued by NAQDA and the private local company engaged in the business.
As learnt by The Sunday Morning, the relevant licenses to conduct aquaculture farming are issued by NAQDA and not by the Department of Fisheries that only deals with the fishing sector and its issues in the deep sea.
As per the National Aquaculture Development Authority of Sri Lanka Act No. 53 of 1998, Section 12 (g) states that for the purpose of discharging its powers, the authority may exercise all or any of the following powers: (g) Enter into, perform and carry out, whether directly or through any officer or agent authorised on that behalf, or by way of joint venture with any person in or outside Sri Lanka, all such contracts or agreements as may be necessary for the discharge of the functions of the authority.
Accordingly, Sections 13 and 14A in the amendment describe a clearer mandate of the Director General of NAQDA than before.
The NAQDA Director General is the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority and is responsible for the exercise and discharge of powers and functions under the NAQDA Act. Aquaculture (and inland fisheries) is managed by NAQDA and the Board of Investment (BOI) is involved when the company is a joint venture with a foreign investor.
As per statistics available with NAQDA, the most recent sea cucumber project was launched in 2018.
The Authority’s Annual Report 2018 states that the construction works of the new sea cucumber hatchery in Oleithuduwai, Mannar has continued to produce sea cucumber juveniles to promote sea cucumber farming in Sri Lanka.
Accordingly, the selected company is required to invest in building a sea cucumber hatchery and managing the commercial seed production of sea cucumber in order to contribute to the enhancement of national sea cucumber production for exports.
As per the NAQDA report, the estimated total project cost is Rs. 250 million. NAQDA has also provided expertise to breed sea cucumbers in a private hatchery, and in 2018, 105,000 sea cucumber juveniles were produced and NAQDA facilitated sea cucumber culture in pens and ponds.
Sea cucumber farming is carried out by the private sector in Mannar, Kilinochchi, and Jaffna, and 196 MT of wet sea cucumbers were harvested from ponds and pens during 2018.
It is learnt that the alleged controversial project details were with NAQDA Director General Nimal Chandrasiri, as the Kilinochchi official also requested the newspaper to contact the Director General.
When contacted by The Sunday Morning, NAQDA Chairman Jayantha Wijeratne said: “According to the Director General, the project has been approved in 2016. However, we have already launched an investigation to get more details.”
Wijeratne also noted that according to the information, approval has been granted for an artificial hatchery and not for a farming site.
According to the Chairman, NAQDA had been monitoring the hatcheries conducted by the private companies. He, however, stressed that a foreign company cannot directly engage in the business but should have formed a partnership with a local company to engage in aquaculture fish projects.
Meanwhile, attempts made by The Sunday Morning to contact NAQDA Director General Chandrasiri, Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda, Ministry Secretary Indu Ratnayake, and State Minister Kanchana Wijesekara were futile.
Clarifying that no foreign national engages in aquaculture farming in Sri Lankan waters directly without having entered into a joint venture, the Authority stressed that an investigation would be conducted to look into whether the project was approved by the Authority, and if so, whether the project is adhering to the approved conditions.
The investigation was recently initiated following concerns raised by the residents in Poovarasan Island, claiming they should have been provided the opportunity to engage in harvesting sea cucumber, which is considered a delicacy, instead of allowing foreigners to come and exploit local resources.
They alleged that the authorities have given almost all opportunities to the private sector without providing them with the necessary technical knowhow to engage in sea cucumber farming or any other related aquaculture or fish farming industry in the area.
“We have more than 50 years of experience in the fisheries industry, and if we were given the opportunity, we could have carried it out perfectly,” a resident in Poovarasan Island said.
The beche-de-mer industry in Sri Lanka is very ancient, having been introduced by the Chinese.
In Sri Lanka, sea cucumber fishery is presently confined to the northern cap stretching from Kalpitiya on the northwestern coast through the Puttalam Islands around the Gulf of Mannar, Trincomalee, Pottuvil, and Kalmunei in the northeastern and eastern coastal waters. These are the major sea cucumber fishing areas since it was introduced to the country.
Sea cucumber is a delicacy and popular traditional food in Southeast Asia, especially in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan, and they are also used in traditional Chinese medicine and regarded as a specialty product that falls within the same niche market as other high-value luxury seafood products such as shark fin, fish maw, and abalone.
However, recent concerns regarding sea cucumber farming erupted, as it was revealed that a Chinese national was carrying out farming in the Puwarasan Island, allegedly without proper approval from the relevant authorities.
Nevertheless, as learnt by The Sunday Morning, this Chinese farming site was not a single-owned Chinese company but a joint venture with a local company, for which the NAQDA has issued a license in 2016.
However, it was not clear whether the license had been issued for conducting sea cucumber farming or engaging in sea cucumber breeding, or whether the farming site is actually engaged in breeding or farming on-site.
When queried on the matter, an official attached to the NAQDA in Kilinochchi, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Sunday Morning that the Chinese company was engaged in sea cucumber breeding on-site and the initial task was to supply enough sea cucumber hatchlings to around 300 sea cucumber farms in the Northern Province.
The officer, however, wasn’t aware of the conditions of the license issued by NAQDA and the private local company engaged in the business.
As learnt by The Sunday Morning, the relevant licenses to conduct aquaculture farming are issued by NAQDA and not by the Department of Fisheries that only deals with the fishing sector and its issues in the deep sea.
As per the National Aquaculture Development Authority of Sri Lanka Act No. 53 of 1998, Section 12 (g) states that for the purpose of discharging its powers, the authority may exercise all or any of the following powers: (g) Enter into, perform and carry out, whether directly or through any officer or agent authorised on that behalf, or by way of joint venture with any person in or outside Sri Lanka, all such contracts or agreements as may be necessary for the discharge of the functions of the authority.
Accordingly, Sections 13 and 14A in the amendment describe a clearer mandate of the Director General of NAQDA than before.
The NAQDA Director General is the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority and is responsible for the exercise and discharge of powers and functions under the NAQDA Act. Aquaculture (and inland fisheries) is managed by NAQDA and the Board of Investment (BOI) is involved when the company is a joint venture with a foreign investor.
As per statistics available with NAQDA, the most recent sea cucumber project was launched in 2018.
The Authority’s Annual Report 2018 states that the construction works of the new sea cucumber hatchery in Oleithuduwai, Mannar has continued to produce sea cucumber juveniles to promote sea cucumber farming in Sri Lanka.
Accordingly, the selected company is required to invest in building a sea cucumber hatchery and managing the commercial seed production of sea cucumber in order to contribute to the enhancement of national sea cucumber production for exports.
As per the NAQDA report, the estimated total project cost is Rs. 250 million. NAQDA has also provided expertise to breed sea cucumbers in a private hatchery, and in 2018, 105,000 sea cucumber juveniles were produced and NAQDA facilitated sea cucumber culture in pens and ponds.
Sea cucumber farming is carried out by the private sector in Mannar, Kilinochchi, and Jaffna, and 196 MT of wet sea cucumbers were harvested from ponds and pens during 2018.
It is learnt that the alleged controversial project details were with NAQDA Director General Nimal Chandrasiri, as the Kilinochchi official also requested the newspaper to contact the Director General.
When contacted by The Sunday Morning, NAQDA Chairman Jayantha Wijeratne said: “According to the Director General, the project has been approved in 2016. However, we have already launched an investigation to get more details.”
Wijeratne also noted that according to the information, approval has been granted for an artificial hatchery and not for a farming site.
According to the Chairman, NAQDA had been monitoring the hatcheries conducted by the private companies. He, however, stressed that a foreign company cannot directly engage in the business but should have formed a partnership with a local company to engage in aquaculture fish projects.
Meanwhile, attempts made by The Sunday Morning to contact NAQDA Director General Chandrasiri, Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda, Ministry Secretary Indu Ratnayake, and State Minister Kanchana Wijesekara were futile.