Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena says the transformative efforts taken by the Ministry of Fisheries to increase the national production is highly appreciated as there has been a transformation in protecting the fish harvested by the fishermen. The Prime Minister made this observation Tuesday (03) while attending a ceremony held at the southern terminal of Dikovita Fisheries Harbor to sail off the “multi-day fishing vessel with cooling systems”, launched as a pilot project to safely bring home the fish harvest from the sea.
The pilot project was jointly implemented by the Ministry of Fisheries, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Cey-Nor Foundation Limited and the Nerd Institute. This pilot project was started with the support of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on a concept of that organization for the reduction of food and post-harvest losses.
The opening ceremony was held at Cey-Nor Institute’s marina under the patronage of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, with the participation of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Douglas Devananda and State Minister of Fisheries Piyal Nishantha. Speaking at the occasion, the Premier said by reducing the wastage, it is possible to increase the income of the fisherman and increase the confidence in the fishing profession.
The Prime Minister said also, by adding their knowledge and wisdom, the Nara Institute and the Nerd Institute have secured the livelihood of the fishermen and provided a great support to the food security program. As a result, the international trust is directed to Sri Lanka’s fish products and enables Sri Lanka to sell a large harvest of fish to the European market. He also said that many economic benefits can be achieved out of it.