New laws to stop harmful fishing practices to Parliament soon

New laws to curb harmful fishing practices will soon be introduced in Parliament, Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda said. 

He revealed this at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Fisheries held in Parliament yesterday.

State Minister of Fisheries Kanchana Wijesekera said that harmful fishing methods are being implemented in many parts of the country and if this situation is not managed properly, the fisheries resources will deplete  rapidly.

He said a special program would be launched soon to introduce new laws to curb certain harmful methods that catch not only small fish but also fish eggs.

Devananda stated that steps will be taken to expedite the development project of the Point Pedro Fisheries Harbour which is currently stalled. The Minister also said that the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which was supposed to provide financial assistance for this project, has stopped providing assistance and is considering seeking assistance from other parties.

Wijesekera said that five fishing harbours including Point Pedro will be established in the Northern Province and steps will be taken to expedite the development of the Point Pedro Port under a 

public-private partnership.

MPs Mayadunna Chinthaka Amal, Karunadasa Kodithuwakku, Sivanesathurai Santhirakanthan, Suren Raghavan, Sudath Manjula, Asanka Navaratne, Ajith Rajapakse, Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries and other Government officials were also present at this Committee meeting.