Sharp drop in dried fish production

Richmond Wijesekera, Bentota group correspondent

DECLINE: Dried fish production has shown a marked drop following the December 2004 tsunami, which destroyed a large number of fishing craft.

The limited catch brought by the available craft is insufficient to meet the demand for fresh fish and this has caused dried fish production to be shelved to traditional dried fish producing areas, a Fisheries Ministry spokesman told the Daily News.

According to the spokesman, the total dried fish production dropped from 63,470 mt in 2004 to 18,900 mt in 2005 as many traditional dried fish producing areas such as Puttalam, Kalpitiya, Mannar and Batticaloa began to send fresh fish to Colombo, due to the demand.

The tsunami has adversely affected the fishing sector destroying almost 70 to 80 per cent of total fishing capacity of the country. This was reflected in a drastic drop of marine fish harvest after the disaster from 253,190 mt in 2004 to 130,400 mt in 2005.