Since Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948, social welfare for the country’s fishing populations has been the responsibility of successive governments. During the latter half of the last millennium, the State has been channelling huge amounts of public funds into a number of social welfare and social security measures. However, the emphasis has mainly been on promotional welfare measures, such as housing, sanitation, infrastructure and training. Among the common problems in the delivery of such measures are regional disparities in the distribution of benefits (with the southern regions receiving the lion’s share), and expenditure on welfare dwindling with a change of government.