Representatives from Chilaw Fishermen’s Associations met the Minister of Fisheries on 2023-05-22 at the Fisheries Ministry.
During the meeting, they have pointed out that the fishermen who engage in fishing at Chilaw Lagoon have been severely affected and unable to carry out their livelihood due to the contamination of the lagoon as a result of releasing wastewater from the Prawn farms in the area and dumping of garbage from the Town Council and Hospitals.
The Fishermen pointed out that the aquatic organisms and fish in the lagoon die in large numbers due to the chemical substances in the water as a result of the releasing of contaminated water from Prawn farms in Chilaw area, without purifying.
The representatives further pointed out that, since the waste materials of Chilaw general hospital and the garbage from the Town Council are dumped in the lagoon, the lagoon has become shallow and the cleaning of the lagoon has not been done for a long time.
At the meeting the minister instructed the officials of NARA and NACDA institutions to look into this issue tomorrow itself and to submit a report in this regard. The minister further stated he would inspect the area on the coming Saturday along with the Secretary of Chilaw Town Council, Secretary of the Pradeshiya Saba, Divisional Secretaries of the relevant Divisional Secretariats, the Officials of Central Environmental Authority of North-Western Province and the Officials of the ministry, and would provide solutions to the issues immediately.
Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries Mrs. Indu Rathnayake, Director General of the Fisheries Department Mr. Susantha Kahawaththa and a group of Ministry Officials attended the event.
