New Peliyagoda fish market
Sri Lanka has more sea area than land but it's ironic to note that while the country exports rice, it imports fish.
One of the main reasons for Sri Lanka to lag behind in the fisheries sector was the 30-year terrorism which curtailed deep sea fishing. Today, with fishing restrictions completely lifted, Sri Lanka has a vast sea area for fishing, including some areas where there are large catchments which had remained untapped for almost 25 years.Former Chairman Cey-Nor Rohan Jayasinghe said one of the other gray areas in the fisheries industry was the lack of technology.
"Due to traditional and outdated techniques that are being used in the local fisheries sector, over 15 percent of the catch is wasted. In a bid to find a solution for this problem, a dual-power sashimi boat was manufactured while 'long liner' techniques too were introduced."
The multi-day fishing vessel usually stays for over 30 days at sea and fish is stocked one layer on top of the other. "We introduced a system to store the fish vertically, thus ensuring the freshness of the catch.New boats were built while portable cold rooms were introduced to transport fish. Cey-Nor, operating under the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, also launched a venture in Bangladesh to manufacture fishing boats.
The total capital investment is $ 80,000. This venture will supply multi-fishing boats to Bangladesh.
Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Dr. Rajitha Senaratne has realised the potential of the industry and has taken several meaningful steps towards making Sri Lanka, a self-sufficient nation for fish in three years.
The fisheries sector is the third most important contributor to Sri Lanka's economic growth.
Read full article: http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/10/30/fea05.asp
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