The United Fishermen’s Association of the North states that Sri Lanka’s fishermen’s associations have already set up 616 sea leech breeding farms in the northern region. This is done in conjunction with the fishing associations of foreign countries.
The chairman of the United Fishermen’s Associations said that the tax levied on a sea leech breeding centre is around Rupees 2000.
Hence farming of sea leeches has rapidly increased over the past few months causing difficulties for traditional fishermen in the north.
The Chairman of the United Fishermen’s Association said that if it continued until 2030, it could cause a major impact on the local fishing industry. This could threaten their livelihood.
He is of the view that the Sri Lankan government should charge foreign companies an appropriate tax based on the number of sea leeches bred in kilograms. This would increase the current fee charged for maintaining a sea urchin breeding centre to a significant level.
