Fish production up 15.6% in 2011 but $ 147 m still spent on imports

The fisheries sector saw a healthy 15.6% growth in its output last year but the country still spent $ 147 million on imports.

The expenditure of $ 147 million (Rs. 16.2 billion) is a record high whilst in 2010 it was $ 128 million whilst in 2007 it amounted to $ 108 million.

According to Central Bank’s 2011 Annual Report, total fish production last year increased by 15.6% to 444,830 metric tons.

While marine fish production grew by 16% to 385,270 metric tons, the inland fish production grew by 13.6% to 59,560 metric tons during the year.

The highest growth was witnessed in deep sea fishing (25%) in the marine fish sector compared to coastal fishing (9.8%).

In 2011, all the provinces except the Eastern Province showed an increase in fish catch supported by favourable weather conditions. Fish production in the Eastern Province declined by around 4% due to adverse weather conditions and its contribution to total marine fish production declined from 28% in 2010 to 23% in 2011.

However, the fish catch in the Northern Province increased significantly by 38% in 2011 reflecting increased participation of people in the fishing industry in the Province. However, the relative contribution of the Northern Province in total marine fish production in 2011 was only 12% compared to that of 41% in 1983. “Therefore, it is necessary to increase the fishery fleet in the Northern Province alongside the improvement in fishery infrastructure to reach the full potential of production in the Province,” Central Bank said.

Meanwhile, the improvement recorded in the inland fishery sector was largely a result of releasing 44 million fish fingerlings and 11 million fresh water prawns during the year.  Retail prices of large varieties of fish in 2011 remained relatively high during the second half of the year compared to the corresponding period of 2010 largely due to the decline in the fish supply from the Eastern Province while the prices of small varieties remained somewhat subdued throughout the year largely due to improved coastal fish catch in the Southern and North Western provinces.