Ministry to launch fish canneries

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

With moves underway to maintain coastal fisheries at a sustainable level in the backdrop of dwindling fish resources in coastal waters, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development has stepped up action to start a fish canning industry in the country with a view to managing local fisheries on a commercial footing.

The concept of launching fish canneries has been there for quite sometime although it remained stagnant in terms of being activated as a major economic activity, sources at Fisheries Ministry told the Daily News, Tuesday.

The approach earlier was to start a fish cannery that will produce canned fish from the local fish production for export, the sources said. This seemed impractical with limited fish resources, they explained.

Coastal fish numbers have seen a big decline due to overexploitation by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities. Coastal fish had to be preserved and sustained for local consumption to manage the industry on a sustainable level, the sources added.

We are trying to start a fish canning industry that will profit from value addition. We aim to become a packer of high quality fish that will be imported from other countries as with the current plans to establish a fish cannery, said Dr S Subasinghe, adviser to Fisheries Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratna.