Sri Lanka to Establish a Special Raid Unit to Prevent Illegal Fishing Practices

March 18: Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development has decided to establish a special raid unit in order to prevent illegal fishing practices related to inland fishing, instructing the Director General of National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA) to establish the unit.

According to the statistics of the Ministry, Sri Lanka is endowed with more than 12,000 inland reservoirs and around 40,000 persons currently engage in inland fishing industry related these reservoirs.

The NAQDA annually releases millions of fish in to these reservoirs. Around 110 million fish were released to these reservoirs in 2018, yielding a harvest of approximately 86,000 metric tons.

The State Minister stated that the fish harvest has been reduced due to illegal fishing and this is threatening the inland fishing industry.

The State Minister has also instructed the Director-General to get the assistance of Sri Lankan police or the Special Task Force for the establishment of this new unit and to take strict legal action against those found guilty of illegal activity related to inland fisheries industry.  

Source: Daily News