The coastline of Sri Lanka is approximately 2000 kilometres and there are approximately 1050 fishing villages in the marine sector and 768 inland fishing villages and about 126808 households involved. Under the present Sri Lankan Fishery Law no foreign fishing vessels can gain a license to fish within the EEZ of Sri Lanka. All the fishing vessels including small canoes and FRP boats must be licensed under the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority of Sri Lanka. Landing permits are available, only if fish is to be sold / processed within Sri Lanka, to foreign fishing vessels for catches made out with Sri Lanka’s EEZ .The sea fisheries of Sri Lanka are divided into two sub-sectors: coastal fishery, offshore and deep water. Fishing activities extending out to 40 miles are deemed coastal. The coastal fishery production for year 2004 was 183,280 MT. Pelagic species make up 2/3 thirds of that total and claimed by 80% of Small Fishers in the country. The offshore deep sea fishery accounted for a further 84,000 tones The coastal fishery predominately involves small 18 – 25 ft beach boats both motorized and non-motorized, operating mostly fish traps, beach seines, gill nets and lines.