Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2018-02-27

Granting of import duty concessions for the import of Squid and Wekkaya the bait for Long Line Fishing used by multiday fishermen

- In the Long Line Fishing used by multiday fishermen in harvesting Tuna fish, Squid, Wekkaya, Sardinella and Black Fish are used as fishing baits. Although around 7000 metric tons of bait fish are required annually for the purpose, the local supply could provide only 3000 Metric Tons out of the total requirement. As such, bait fish such as Squid and Wekkaya are imported and distributed among fishery associations and since these types of fish being used for human consumption, duty concessions granted on the import of normal bait fish are not granted when importing such fish. The Tuna fishing industry in Sri Lanka is adversely affected due to the exorbitant prices of the imported bait fish. As such, the proposal made by Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, to grant a import duty concession for the types of bait fish, Squid and Wekkaya imported only for the purpose of distributing among fishery associations in accordance with the recommendation of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development and to take necessary measures to prevent the release of such imported bait fish for local consumption,was approved by the Cabinet.