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Tuesday, 11 November 2014 02:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
What is important is that promising new global markets have begun to open for our ornamental fishes in 2013. The profitable new markets come from the Middle East – Qatar, Iran and Lebanon – which have strongly increased their demand for the first time in 2013,” said Minister of industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen yesterday.
Bathiudeen was addressing the landmark first Sri Lankan International Ornamental Fish Trade Conference 2014 (SLIOFT) inaugurated yesterday at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo. The two-day SLIOFT sessions in Colombo, co-organised by EDB, INFOFISH and Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, feature a plenary session with three other sessions and a field visit by international delegates to a Lankan ornamental fishery farm located in Handapangoda today (11).
Also joining were INFOFISH Director Dr. Abdul Basir Kunhimohammed, Ornamental Fish Association President Dr. Gerald Bassleer, Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Rajitha Senarathna, Dy. Minister of Industry and Commerce V.A.D.L. Wasantha Perera, Dy. Minister of Economic Development Susantha Punchinilame, Dy. Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Sarath Gunarathne, Ministry of Industry and Commerce Secretary Anura Siriwardena, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Secretary Dr. D.M.P. Dissanayake, EDB Chairman/CEO Bandula Egodage,
FAO Sri Lanka Representative Beth S. Crawford, top officials from EDB and other fishery stakeholders.
“Today this event is held as two important developments are seen in our aquaculture industries. One development is about the concerns expressed by some environment activists about emerging ‘Red Lists,’ the other being it becoming an export trendsetter. The idea is that as we supply more fish, some of native fish varieties are threatened with extinction and enter the ‘Red List’,” said Bathiudeen.
He added: “While this is a possibility, the Government is not blind to this trend and has already started taking positive steps. In fact, of the 90 varieties of Lankan freshwater fish, 50 are considered to be endemic to Sri Lanka, about which we all are well aware. As per the committed vision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Government will intervene in securing new technology to provide information and incentives to the medium and small scale ornamental fish entrepreneurs to access the international markets.
“In fact on behalf of our ornamental fish producers let me commend President Rajapaksa for his many unprecedented initiatives to safeguard Sri Lanka’s aquaculture in Budget 2015. The total value of these budgetary initiatives is almost $ 2 m. We also usually enforce certain ornamental fish import certificate requirements to safeguard our existing fish base. The EDB has launched six ornamental fishery projects in Polonnaruwa District to expand this base. Therefore considering these initiatives I believe that there is no need to worry about our fish varieties going into ‘Red Lists’.
“The other development is that this sector has become a trend-setter in our journey towards becoming a premium product supplier to the high end of the global markets. Forty regular exporting companies in Sri Lanka have successfully taken 2.7% share of the $ 400 million global market. In 2013 Sri Lanka exported $ 10.7 million of ornamental fish. This $ 10.7 million is an increase of a strong 41% from 2012’s exports. the US, UK, Germany, Japan and France were our top five buyers. What is important is that promising new global markets have begun to open for our ornamental fishes in 2013. The profitable new markets come from the Middle East – they are Qatar, Iran and Lebanon, which have strongly increased their demand for our ornamental fish in 2013 for the first time. Among other new markets were Switzerland, Spain and Taiwan.”
Ornamental Fish Association President Dr. Gerald Bassleer stated: “I have been in this industry for 37 years. Since my last visit to the country 20 years ago, I have seen big changes here. The quality of Lankan O-fish now is one of the best in the world. We clearly see the great quality of Lankan live fish arriving in our ports with high survival rates, with diverse range of colour and a good price. The secret for Sri Lanka’s success is the ongoing quality controls implemented within fish farms itself with support from your Government.”
EDB Chairman/CEO Bandula Egodage, addressing the event, said: “The EDB assisted quarantine quality assurance for 26 main exporters, focusing on the survival quality and lowering Dead on Arrival (DoA) rates of our live fish. With the intervention of Sri Lankan Air Force Commander, new initiatives have been introduced to deliver live fish stocks without opening them while at transit, so that DoA rates are lowered even further.”
The 10-11 November SLIOFT will also focus on recent advances in different sub sectors like O-fish farming, health, live fish survival rates and methods in exports, etc. More than 200 local and international delegates from Sri Lanka, Singapore, Israel, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Norway Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and Australia are taking part in the two-day sessions in Colombo.
