Dr Sarath Obeysekera Blue economy promoter

Sri Lanka is once again celebrating agreements to send skilled graduates and engineers overseas. While foreign employment generates valuable remittances, we must ask a fundamental question: Are we exporting our most valuable resource because we have failed to create opportunities at home?

Recent discussions on providing employment opportunities in Japan for Sri Lankan fisheries graduates highlight a deeper issue. Instead of focusing solely on exporting our talent, why are we not investing in industries and technologies that can create sustainable jobs within Sri Lanka’s own coastal economy?

One promising opportunity lies in wave energy technology.

Countries such as South Korea have invested heavily in marine renewable energy systems, including wave-powered electricity generation. Sri Lanka, surrounded by the Indian Ocean and blessed with hundreds of kilometres of coastline, possesses a natural advantage that remains largely untapped.

Imagine every major fisheries harbour becoming a small renewable energy hub. Wave energy devices could generate electricity day and night, feeding battery storage systems strategically located within harbour premises. The stored energy could then be sold to multi-day fishing vessels at affordable rates before they leave for fishing grounds.

Today, fishermen face increasing operational costs, including fuel, ice production, refrigeration, communications, and onboard electrical systems. A reliable source of low-cost renewable electricity could significantly reduce these expenses while improving the competitiveness of Sri Lanka’s fishing industry.

The role of the Fisheries Harbour Corporation should extend far beyond maintaining jetties and auction halls. It should become a catalyst for innovation and enterprise development within the Blue Economy.

Each fisheries harbour could host:

• Wave energy generation facilities

• Battery energy storage systems

• Ice manufacturing plants powered by renewable energy

• Fish processing and value-addition centres

• Marine engineering workshops

• Boat maintenance and repair facilities

• Start-up incubators for young fisheries graduates and engineers

Rather than encouraging our brightest graduates to seek opportunities abroad, the government should establish a dedicated Blue Economy Innovation Fund. Such a fund could provide seed capital, technical support, and concessionary financing for start-ups operating within fisheries harbours.

Young engineers could design and maintain renewable energy systems. Fisheries graduates could develop modern fish handling and processing technologies. Entrepreneurs could establish cold chain logistics, marine electronics businesses, and ocean technology companies.

The economic multiplier effect would be substantial. Jobs would be created not only for graduates but also for technicians, welders, electricians, boat builders, and coastal communities.

Throughout history, nations that prospered from the sea invested in maritime innovation. The Netherlands, South Korea, Norway, and Japan transformed their coastal industries through technology and long-term planning. Sri Lanka has every opportunity to follow a similar path.

The answer to unemployment is not always another foreign employment agreement. Sometimes the answer is waiting on our own shores.

If Sri Lanka is serious about building a sustainable Blue Economy, the focus must shift from exporting human capital to creating opportunities for that human capital to flourish at home. Our fisheries harbours should become centres of innovation, renewable energy, and entrepreneurship—not merely departure points for the next generation of skilled Sri Lankans seeking opportunities elsewhere.

The waves that crash against our coastline every day are not just a natural phenomenon. They are a source of energy, wealth, and opportunity. It is time we learned how to harness them.

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

Blue economy promoter