A targeted inland fisheries restoration initiative jointly implemented by the Government of Japan and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has activated in Batticaloa District, focusing on the rehabilitation of reservoir-based fishing livelihoods devastated by Cyclone Ditwah across the Eastern Province. The programme — covering Batticaloa alongside Ampara and Trincomalee — involves the systematic restocking of district reservoirs with fish fingerlings of commercially valuable freshwater species, rebuilding the aquatic populations that sustained inland fishing communities but were severely depleted by cyclone-related siltation, flooding, and the displacement of fishing families from their customary water bodies. Beyond biological restocking, the initiative is providing replacement fishing equipment — including nets, traps, and small boats — to inland fishers who lost their assets during the cyclone, enabling them to return to active fishing without incurring unsustainable debt to replace essential capital equipment. The distribution targets registered inland fishing community members in divisions most severely affected by the storm. The Japan-FAO programme also incorporates a post-harvest processing component, providing cold storage access training and simple value-addition techniques to help fishers improve the market value of their catch and reduce post-harvest losses — a persistent challenge for inland fishing communities without access to refrigeration infrastructure. FAO field coordinators noted that Batticaloa's extensive network of ancient irrigation tanks and reservoirs gives the district exceptional potential for a productive inland fisheries sector once key ecological and operational constraints are addressed, and expressed confidence that the restoration programme would deliver measurable livelihood benefits within the 2026-2027 fishing season.