A special coordination committee meeting was held at the Polonnaruwa District Secretariat on 2nd of August to discuss the issues facing by the inland fishing community in the Polonnaruwa District.
The meeting, chaired by the Deputy Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Mr. Rathna Gamage, was attended by the Deputy Minister of Urban Development, Mr. T.B. Sarath, district parliamentarians, and relevant government officials.
This meeting, organized by Polonnaruwa District Secretary Sujantha Ekanayake, discussed the issues surrounding the five main reservoirs in the Polonnaruwa District—namely Minneriya, Kaudulla, Giritale, Parakrama Samudra, and Maduru Oya at length. The fishing community expressed their views regarding the use of prohibited nets, difficulties in preventing illegal fishing, reduction in the capacity of the reservoirs due to the spread of invasive aquatic plants, issues related to fish fry stocking, and challenges arising in obtaining permits from the Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister Rathna Gamage stated that this is the inaugural meeting of a series of Inland Fisheries District Coordination Committee meetings to be held across the island. He pointed out that the main objectives of this program are to increase fisheries production, strengthen the economy of fishing families, and generate foreign exchange through the export of fishery products.
The Deputy Minister further stated that a special meeting is expected to be held in Parliament on 6th of August with the Minister of Environment, the Secretary to the Ministry, and the Director General of Wildlife to resolve issues related to the Department of Wildlife Conservation.
The meeting was attended by officials from all other relevant institutions, including the Sri Lanka Police, Army, and the Departments of Wildlife and Forest Conservation. In addition, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries Dhammika Ranatunga, Chairman of the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation J.A.K. Mark, Private Secretary to the Deputy Minister, H.S. Hathurasinghe, Secretary of the National Fisheries Federation (NFF) L.G. Ajantha Kumara, Polonnaruwa District Divisional Secretaries, officials of the National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA), heads of government institutions, and representatives of fisheries organizations were also present.
It is expected that this coordination committee meeting will guide the inland fishing industry in Polonnaruwa along a new path and provide prompt solutions to the problems of the fishing community.
