A proposal made by Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda to establish Export Oriented Sea Cucumber Production Villages along the Shallow Seas in the Northern and Eastern Provinces to gain Foreign Exchange was approved by the Cabinet.
The statement issued by the Cabinet Office in this regard is as follows.
Sri Lanka has been able to earn a significant amount of foreign exchange by exporting Sea Cucumber harvested from the natural marine environment.
Based on the experience gained, National Aquaculture Development Authority of Sri Lanka initiated this Sea Cucumber commercial plantation project to increase foreign exchange earnings and improve the livelihoods of the fishing community by constructing Sea Cucumber breeding centers, expanding Sea Cucumber farms, establishing Sea Cucumber export production villages.
Accordingly, 5000 acres have been identified for the project from Jaffna, Mannar, Kilinochchi and Batticaloa districts and the proposal made by Hon. Minister of Fisheries, to set up Sea Cucumber production and export villages covering about 100 acres and to further expand the relevant project by establishing Sea Cucumber production farms of 01 acre each on the aforesaid 100 acres of land was approved by the Cabinet.