First int'l fishery confab in Lanka

Sri Lanka will feature a rare international confab this November and many top global fishery experts and exporters will gather for the first time in South Asia.

It will be organised by the Export Development Board (EDB).

"We thank Malaysia-based INFOFISH for affording us this opportunity," said EDB Chairman Bandula Egodage when he met Director General, INFOFISH, Dr Abdul Basir Kunhimohammed last week at the EDB premises.

ED, EDB, Dr Yousuf Maraikkar and representatives from the National Aquaculture Development Authority of Sri Lanka (NAQDA) and National Aquatic Resources Agency (NARA) were also present.

The visiting INFOFISH, Director General, Dr. Kunhimohammed was in Colombo to hold preparatory meetings with Lankan stakeholders for the first INFOFISH Global Conference in Sri Lanka titled 'Sri Lankan International Ornamental Fish Conference' from November 10-11 at the Kingsbury, Colombo.

"This will be a global event attended by ten international ornamental fish industry speakers," said Dr Kunhimohammed.

"Since they are willing to share their experiences with the local ornamental fish industry personnel, this will be a rare first time opportunity for the Sri Lankan fishery sector to directly network and learn important lessons from international experts," he said.

"I call upon the Lankan and regional fishery sectors to make the most of this opportunity.

Some of the top presenters are not only fishery experts but are also leading international fishery businesspersons. Therefore, the networking potential will be considerable," said the Director General.

"The President of Ornamental Fish International, Gerald Bassleer will be a star presenter and the Lankan fishery sector personnel should not miss this opportunity.

"Ornamental Fish International (OFI) is a trade association across no less than 44 major fish exporting and importing nations," he said.

"It was the former Secretary General of INFOFISH, the late Dr. Alex Ploeg who was due in Colombo to meet you but sadly, Dr. Alex Ploeg, his wife, their son and his friend perished in the MH17 plane crash above Ukraine on July 17," Dr. Kunhimohammed said.

"Despite this great loss to us and the international fishery sector, we decided to go ahead with the Colombo event in November to continue Dr Ploeg's valuable efforts. The event is jointly organised by INFOFISH, the EDB and co-sponsored by OFI," the Director General said.

The Kuala Lumpur based INFOFISH is an inter-governmental organisation across 14 countries and provides marketing information and technical advisory services to the fishery industries of the Asia-Pacific region.

It is the leading source of market support for fish producers and exporters in the region. In addition to exhibitions, conferences, workshops, seminars and training programs, INFOFISH also undertakes consultancies on all aspects of fisheries.

In 2013, Sri Lanka exported ornamental fish valued at US $10.7 million, an increase of 41% compared to 2012. The US, UK, Germany, Japan and France were the top five importers from Sri Lanka in 2013.

"INFOFISH has been continuously assisting us to upgrade the Lankan sector," said Chairman and CEO, EDB, Bandula Egodage.

Therefore, INFOFISH is no stranger to us. The EDB wants to enlist the help of stakeholders of Lankan fisheries such as the Fisheries Ministry, NAQDA and NARA," he said.