07/09/2006
COLOMBO: The Government of Norway has financed a pilot project to produce fish silage from fish waste in the Beruwala Harbour. The facility will be officially opened on September 8th by the Hon. Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Mr. Felix Perera.
This was disclosed in a Press release of the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo.
The Press release further said, "In a response to a request made by the Industrial Technology Institute in Sri Lanka, the Norwegian Government granted Rs. 50 million to conduct research and develop products from fish waste. From this grant, technical assistance was provided by the Norwegian Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture Research.
"A production facility for fish silage has been established at the Beruwala Fisheries Harbour under this project, and approximately 500-700 Kg of fish waste will be processed each day. The silage can be utilised as the major ingredient in poultry feed, providing a nutritious and hormone-free alternative to costly imported feeds.
"The Ceylon Fisheries Harbour Corporation is expected to distribute the product among the private sector feed manufacturers. The production of silage will also provide a solution for waste disposal, which is a severe environmental problem.
"The Norwegian development co-operation with Sri Lanka has been linked to a broad spectrum of economic development and income generating activities for over 20 years."
