Tsunami ravaged Indian Ocean fisheries: UN

Indian Ocean fisheries have been devastated by the Asian tsunami, endangering the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of families.

Indian Ocean fisheries have been devastated by the Asian tsunami, endangering the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of families, a UN agency said on Thursday.

HT Image

The Food and Agriculture Organisation said it is looking at ways to assist the fishers and restart the fishing industry in the region. The agency has sent experts to Sri Lana to advise the government on rehabilitation projects while it plans support measures in other affected countries including Indonesia, Thailand, the Maldives, Somalia and the Seychelles.

"The damage caused by the recent tsunami in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors of the affected countries is worse and more complex than expected" a statement by the agency said, without elaborating.

Experts were not immediately available for comment, the Rome-based agency said.

The December 26 tidal waves killed or displaced many thousands of fishermen and destroyed fleets across the region.