The Hon. Ajith Gihan

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, first a clarification. Hon. Namal Rajapaksa claimed floodwaters carried crabs into the sea and sought to lecture on fisheries. His father was a Fisheries Minister; he himself raced cars outside the Temple of the Tooth. But he is ill‑informed: inland floods do not “wash crabs to the sea” as he suggested. He also spoke of inland aquaculture—during their time, after floods, they merely handed out a few fingerlings. Our Hon. Minister visited, provided not just fingerlings but access to loans up to Rs. 2.5 million at low interest. Please study the sector before speaking.

¶ 02 Sri Lanka has about 517,000 square kilometres of ocean resource with 4,890 square kilometres of inland waters. Roughly 279,000 fishing families support about 2.7 million people engaged directly or indirectly, meeting a significant share of protein needs of 22 million citizens.

¶ 03 What did past governments do? They let pension funds turn insolvent; now they accuse us. Fisher pensions existed but had poor awareness and no workable process. Therefore, the Fisheries Department, Agriculture Department, and Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board have combined to deliver robust, separate pension tracks for agriculture and fisheries.

¶ 04 Our National People’s Power policy explicitly calls for broad social protection. The proposed fisher pension is sustainable and reliable, with multiple contribution options suited to irregular incomes—one-time, quarterly, half-yearly, or annually—allowing fishers to secure Rs. 5,000, Rs. 10,000, or more per month in retirement. We know fishers cannot brave the sea after 60; this ensures dignity in old age.

¶ 05 Previously, if a contributor died, the spouse received nothing. Now, a named beneficiary—typically the spouse—will receive the benefit. We also plan added benefits, such as free life jackets for contributors, and will strengthen the fund prudently, unlike earlier ad hoc disbursements that broke trust.

¶ 06 Benefits extend beyond active fishers to allied workers across the value chain. On mud (black) crabs, a 900-gram crab sells around Rs. 11,000 retail; enforcing the 130 mm minimum is essential. Curbing illegal catch protects a major foreign exchange earner.

¶ 07 Regarding recent storms, our Ministers visited Puttalam and elsewhere. Through the Cey-Nor facility we are replacing or repairing boats and nets, and providing grants up to Rs. 100,000 for nets. The Ministry and Department have set rapid assistance plans. Check the Budget—allocations for fisheries are higher now; we are rebuilding harbours and strengthening the sector.

¶ 08 We are also developing an insurance scheme—“Sayura”—providing over Rs. 1 million in benefits in case of death. With these measures we will revive fisher livelihoods. I invite all to support and enrol fishers into this scheme.