Negombo Fish Market
A working fish market and beach by the sea in Negombo, where boats land the catch in the early morning and fish are dried in the sun on mats. A look at how the town earns its living.
Negombo has been a fishing town for a very long time, and the fish market is where you see it at work.
Boats come in to the beach in the early morning. The catch is sorted and sold, and some of it goes to the wet market, which sits next to the drying area.
On the sand nearby, fish are salted or soaked in brine, then laid out on mats to dry in the sun. Dried fish is a common part of Sri Lankan cooking, and some is sent on to other parts of the island.
It is a working place, not a show. It can be wet, busy and smelly. Some guests like to watch from the edge, and that is fine. Ask before you photograph people.
Pairs well with
- Negombo Lagoon
- Negombo city tour
Nearby and related
- Negombo LagoonA wide, shallow lagoon beside Negombo, where fishing families work, mangroves line the edges and waterbirds feed in the shallows. It meets the sea by a narrow channel near the town.
- St Sebastian's Church, KatuwapitiyaA Roman Catholic church in Katuwapitiya, Negombo, in the Archdiocese of Colombo. Negombo has a large Catholic community, and churches are part of daily life in the town.
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