Describing this situation, Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told that the per capita fish consumption in the country had increased by 2.7 percent this year compared to last year, though the estate sector in the Central Province remained low at about 450 grams level.

This year’s total fish production was 389,500 MT, which included 335,750 MT of marine fisheries production and 53,750 MT of inland fisheries output, the Minister said.

Amaraweera said that the bounteous fish harvest and the apparent tendency of people to consume fish rather than meat had resulted in the increase in per capita fish consumption in the country.

The prevalent dry weather had caused most of the reservoirs to dry up during the past ten months and extreme weather condition had adversely impacted on the fish production, Minister Amaraweera said.

The fish consumption provided the majority of people with their daily protein needs and the meat consumption had declined due to the fact that meat was enriched with high percentage of fat and cholesterol leading to heart ailments, cancers, high blood pressure and paralysis, Minister Amaraweera said.

In this context, the consumption of fish had increased since it contained Omega 3, which helped control cholesterol levels, Minister Amaraweera said, adding that the per capita consumption of fish had been at a very low level during the last decade.

The growth of per capita consumption up to 46.7 grams during last ten months in 2017 was a healthy indicator, Amaraweera said.