Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said the fisheries sector will be among top three foreign exchange earners in Sri Lanka by 2020.
The ministry has already put in place a mechanism for realising this target, Amaraweera said adding that by end of 2017, it is planned to increase the total fish export earnings in the country rather than spending a huge some of money on fish and fishery product imports.
The Minister speaking at the Second Ornamental fish Trade and Technical conference held in Colombo recently expressed confidence the ornamental fish industry will play an active role towards achieving this target.
In 2016, Sri Lanka imported 120,000 metric tonnes of fishery products, such as canned fish, dried fish and Maldive fish and sprats.After a lapse of 18 years, plans are on to setup breeding centres across the country to develop aqua culture and highly demanded fish species and these centres will be open by end of 2017 and 2018, Minister Amaraweera said.
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