State Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development (FARD) Dilip Wedaarachchi announced that concerns voiced by the owners of multi-day trawlers – regarding the inability to sell their harvest due to unregulated imports of fish and related products – will be presented to the government for necessary action.

He further stated at a meeting held last week with local representatives of the fisher community that import restrictions would be enforced during the high harvest season, from September to December, which was expected to encourage export quality fish production and value added fish products.

The Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources reported that Rs. 32,726 million was spent in 2018 on importing 84,463 metric tons of fish products such as dried fish, sprats, Maldive fish, canned fish and live (ornamental) fish.

According to the state minister, the proposed import restrictions would curtail the outflow of money from the country while further attention should be paid to empowering local fisheries by fulfilling their needs.