Fisheries industry development in N-E :

Over Rs.3,840 m spent in two years

Ridma Dissanayake

The government spent over Rs 3,840 million to develop the fisheries industry in the Northern and Eastern Provinces during the past two years, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne said.

"The government has allocated Rs 2,000 million through the Budget 2013 for this year's development activities in the fisheries sector. The Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry has planned a number of development programmes to be launched in the coming months," he said.

"The fisheries industry is one of the most important industries in Sri Lanka and only second to the agriculture and tourism sectors.

It is the country's third most important industry which makes a vital contribution for the uplift of the economy," Minister Senaratne said.

"The governments spends over Rs.3,600 million annually to provide a fuel subsidy to 64,000 fishing vessels in the country,'he said. "A special pension and an insurance scheme for fishermen has also been introduced in addition to the fuel subsidy to uplift the livelihoods of fisher families.

The fisheries sector will be a key player in the country's drive by year 2015,' he further added.