The Ministry of Fisheries has launched an urgent islandwide program to fully restore the boats and fishing gear damaged by Cyclone Ditwah within six (06) months. This initiative is being jointly implemented by the Cey-Nor Foundation and North Sea, institutions operating under the Ministry.
Mr. Ajith Edirisinghe, Chairman of Cey-Nor and North Sea, stated that the responsibility for repairing and producing new fishing boats damaged by the cyclone has been assigned to Cey-Nor, while the supply of fishing nets and related gear has been entrusted to North Sea. In collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and the National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA), a comprehensive assessment has already been conducted to identify fully and partially damaged boats across both ocean and inland fisheries sectors.
Accordingly, the production of new 19 1/2 feet boats and outrigger canoes to replace those that were completely destroyed has been accelerated at the Mattakkuliya shipyard in Colombo and the newly established Karainagar shipyard in Jaffna. To further strengthen this accelerated production process, the services of retired naval and tri-forces with extensive experience in fiberglass technology have been temporarily obtained. As a result, hundreds of new outrigger canoes and a significant number of boats have already been manufactured.
Meanwhile, a large number of partially damaged outrigger canoes belonging to the inland fisheries sector, particularly in the Northern, North-Central, and Eastern provinces, have already been successfully repaired in nine districts. According to available data:
- 55 outrigger canoes in Kilinochchi District
- 36 outrigger canoes in Mullaitivu District
- 29 outrigger canoes in Anuradhapura District
- 26 outrigger canoes in Ampara District
- 16 outrigger canoes in Mannar District
- 15 outrigger canoes in Polonnaruwa District
- 10 outrigger canoes in Trincomalee District
- 05 outrigger canoes in Vavuniya District
- 47 outrigger canoes in Batticaloa District
have been repaired and handed back to the fishing community.
In addition, special repair camps are currently being established in key areas such as Gurunagar and Chilaw to expedite the restoration of other damaged vessels.
The Chairman further emphasized that the primary objective of these institutions is to fully restore the livelihoods of fishing families affected by Cyclone Ditwah within six months and provide them with much-needed relief.
