Over Rs. 7655m allocated for fisheries sector

Uditha KUMARASINGHE and Irangika RANGE

Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Felix Perera told Parliament yesterday the Government from the 2009 Budget has allocated Rs. 7,655 million to develop the country's fisheries sector. The Minister was responding to an oral question raised by JVP MP Pemasiri Manage.

Of this total allocation, Rs. 851 million has been reserved for the inland fisheries industry while Rs. 31 million has been allocated for prawn farming.

The Minister said the 2009 Budget has provided a series of relief measures to the fishing community to further develop their industry. These relief measures were made effective with effect from January 2009.

The types of relief measures given includes a state of the art fish marketing complex, Peliyagoda (Rs. 600 million) Dikowita Fishery Harbour (Rs. 2940 million), Post Tsunami Rehabilitation and Recourse Management (Rs. 895 million), Rehabilitation os Tsunami Damaged areas (Rs. 340 million), Aquatic Resources Development and Quality Improvement Project (Rs. 561 million), Procurement of two mother vessels (Rs. 150 million), Fisheries community strengthening (Rs. 42 million) and assistance to the coastal fisheries industry in the Eastern Province (Rs. 15 million).