The stilt fishermen in Sri Lanka - a tourist rip-off?
They are one of Sri Lanka's icons and a popular motif in travel brochures - the stilt fishermen along the south coast of Sri Lanka.
This type of fishing is not practiced anywhere else in the world and is part of the local culture. Except for an older version of the 20 rupee banknote, the famous stilt fishermen have made it, for many tourists they are an expression of exoticism and closeness to nature.
The stilt fishermen from Koggala
The coastal town of Koggala in particular is known for its stilt fishermen, but they can be found almost everywhere along the approximately 30-kilometer stretch of coast between Koggala and Weligama.
Wooden stilts protruding from the shallow water near the shore are a typical landmark of the coastal landscape here. The stilts, called "ritipane" in Sinhalese, consist of a pole about 3.5-4 meters long, which is driven half a meter deep into the coral reefs or the river bed. A thin horizontal branch is then attached to it, which serves as a seat for the fisherman. The feet usually just dangle down.
What looks easy at first glance, however, is hard work for the fishermen. It takes a lot of skill and balance to stand for hours on the uncomfortable stilt and wait for fish.
They collect their catch, mainly sardines and mackerel, in a small bag strapped around their waist. They fish mainly in the early morning and in the evening before sunset, as this is when most schools of fish are on the move.
Each stilt belongs to a particular fisherman who inherited it from his father. They are respected family property and are passed down from generation to generation.
According to stories, stilt fishing was first practiced at the end of the Second World War, when the rocks on the beach slowly became too small for the number of fishermen and famine forced the locals to find other ways of obtaining food. The stilts allowed fishermen to fish in shallow waters from then on.
The advantage of this type of fishing is that only a minimal shadow falls on the water and fish and other underwater life are therefore hardly disturbed.
However, stilt fishing has become less and less lucrative in recent years. Fish stocks have declined sharply, meaning that fishermen usually only bring home a minimal catch, which they either use for their own consumption or sell on for a small amount of money. The devastating tsunami in 2004 also contributed to the worsening situation for the stilt fishermen: It changed the coastline in such a way that there are significantly fewer fish in the shallow waters along the south coast. In the first few years after the tsunami, the stilt fishermen had almost completely disappeared from the scene.
Fishing by boat and net is much easier and more profitable, so that the number of stilt fishermen continues to fall - according to an official count, there are only 65 of the total of around 1500 professional fishermen in the southern province of Sri Lanka.
Second mainstay as a photo model
As a result, the majority of stilt fishermen now live in very poor conditions.
However, they have now built up a second source of income by charging tourists money for photos.
They charge around 1,000 rupees for a photo (that's a ridiculous 4.50 euros for a great souvenir). If the tourist wants to sit on a stilt and pose as a stilt fisherman, the price is a little higher.
This is considered by many to be an outrageous money-making scheme and the stilt fishermen are criticized for no longer practising their actual trade, but only making money from tourists.
It is true that stilt fishing is no longer practiced to the extent that it traditionally was, for the reasons mentioned above. What you as a visitor should not forget, however, is that the stilt fishermen are dependent on the money they can earn from photos for this very reason. Fishing brings them only a minimal yield and an extremely low income, from which they can barely feed their families. Tourists are often willing to pay a little money for a supposedly unique vacation photo and for the fisherman it is simply money earned that directly benefits him and his family.
In the end, you can still decide for yourself whether it's worth spending a little money on a photo of the stilt fishermen.
