The second International Ornamental Fish Trade and Technical Conference organized by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, INFOFISH Malaysia, and Ornamental Fish International (OFI) was held on February 8 and 9 at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo.
lThe Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development (MOFARD), Ministry of Primary Industries, National Aquaculture Development Authority of Sri Lanka (NAQDA), and Live Tropical Fish Exporters Association were the national partners of the conference.
The first edition was held in Sri Lanka in 2014. Sri Lanka was chosen as the venue to hold the second edition of this event, in recognition of it’s role as one of the pioneering country of global marine ornamental fish trade and also as key supplier of the freshwater ornamental fish to the global market. The conference brought together the world’s major ornamental supplying nations, exporters, buyers, trade organizations government institutions, professionals to discuss the current issues and challenges in the industry.
Sixteen international speakers participated at the conference, which covered all the important aspects of the ornamental fish industry including trade and technology challenges, developments and innovations in breeding, rearing and feed technology; both in marine and freshwater ornamental fish sector: as well as the prevention and control of diseases.
Some of the pressing global issues included current and pending rules and regulations, environmental issues and the certifications.