Minister of Fisheries, Douglas Devananda said that Sri Lanka's ornamental fish industry is a valuable industry that brings foreign exchange to the country and no matter how deep the economic crisis the country is facing, he will take steps to draw the attention of the President and support it in a big way in the future. He said this while opening the largest-ever ornamental fish exhibition and market in Sri Lanka held at Taprobane Hall in Borella on 07.10.2023.
This exhibition is known by the name Aquafiesta. He said that the organizers, Chamila Jayasinghe and the group, have put in a lot of effort to hold this exhibition and expressed his thanks to NAQDA and other private organizations for the support they extended.
He also expressed his gratitude to the foreign representatives including Brave Stepan who came over for this event and asked them to discuss with the organizations currently engaged in the ornamental fish industry and let him know the support that should be given to them the and what their needs are in order to provide the support in the future in consultation with His Excellency the President.
He also said that an amount of 100 million rupees has been given for the upliftment of the freshwater fish industry including ornamental fish in spite of there being many economic difficulties in the country, and preparation of projects that can be undertaken by utilizing the money is currently underway by NAQDA. Instructions will be given to implement all those projects under the supervision of the Ministry of Fisheries. The minister said that by organizing this exhibition and market, it is possible to attract many investors from this country as well as from foreign countries and once again expressed his thanks for organizing these core activities.
The event was attended by many professors of the Department of Biological Sciences of the Government Universities, Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries, Ms. Indu Ratnayake, Director General of NAQDA, Dr. Ashoka, and officials including heads of the private institutions that organized this exhibition.
