The World Bank has initiated an Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) named “Sri Lanka: Priorities for Sustainably Managing Sri Lanka’s Coastal Fisheries and the Ecosystems That Support Them” to support the Government of Sri Lanka in prioritizing investment and policy actions to enhance the welfare and resilience of coastal fishing communities and fisheries’ contribution to the national economy including in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate risks. In this respect, the main requirement of the ASA is to establish sustainable coastal fisheries management, concentrating in two case studies namely small pelagic in the western districts of Chilaw, Negombo and Kalutara
(“selected western districts”), and lobster in the South Fisheries Management Area, in Hambantota. Accordingly, with technical assistance (TA) from the World Bank under this ASA and the specialists from NARA have carried out stock assessments of key small pelagic stocks and of lobster in the respective case study areas to provide an assistance to the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR) to develop sustainable fisheries management plans (FMPs).