Tsunami: India's seafood exports to drop by 30%

Observing that India's seafood exports may decline by around 30 per cent as a result of the tsunami, a UN agency said on Friday that the impact of the disaster on the fishing community in the Indian Ocean region is worse and more complex than expected.

Two thousand boats and 48,000 items of fishing gear were lost in India, some 300,000 fishermen have lost their jobs, and the country's seafood exports may decline by around 30 per cent as a result of the tsunami, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said.

"The situation is extremely serious, particularly in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, the countries where we have the best information coming through," said Jeremy Turner, head of the world body's Fishery Technology Service.

In Sri Lanka, where more than 7,500 fishermen were killed and over 5,600 are still missing, 80 per cent of coastal fishing vessels, nearly 20,000 boats, were completely destroyed or very seriously damaged, and 10 of the 12 main

fishing harbours were completely devastated along with ice plants, cold rooms, workshops and slipways. The replacement and repair of the boats alone is estimated to be nearly $75 million. FAO has already sent fishery experts to advise the government on the repair and rehabilitation of fishing harbours and infrastructure, fishing boats and fishing gear.

In Indonesia, the worst hit of the dozen countries ravaged by the December 26 tsunami, 70 per cent of the small-scale fishing fleet were destroyed in the Aceh area, home to 42,000 fishermen and their families.

Two thirds of the fishermen in the capital, Banda Aceh, were killed while in nearby Nias Island 800 fishing canoes were destroyed.