President Gotabaya Rajapaksa instructed officials to take measures to create an environment for the consumers to purchase fish at reasonable price while protecting the fisheries industry.

President issued this directive during a meeting convened to discuss matters related to multi-day fishing boat owners held at the Presidential Secretariat today (26).

While emphasizing the importance of involving both the exporter as well as boat owners when planning new measures aimed at an export oriented market the President advised the officials to take immediate steps to prevent illegal fishing.

Representatives of fisheries societies said that the export companies only purchase fish caught by vessels owned by the latter. Since they are engaged only in export- targeted fishing, the non-availability of an adequate market for their harvest is a pressing issue, they said.

President advised officials to find both short and long term solutions to these issues and to involve exporters as well as boats owners in future endeavours. President Rajapaksa instructed the Chairman of the Fisheries Corporation to mediate to purchase the fishing harvest of the multi-day fishing boat owners as a short – term measure.

Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Douglas Devananda, State Ministers Sanath Nishantha, Kanchana Wijesekara, Secretary to the President Dr. P. B. Jayasundara, Secretary to the Treasury and the Ministry of Finance S. R. Attygalle, Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource R. M. I. Ratnayake and several other officials were present at the discussion.