The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development says a program to provide multi-day trawlers to the fishing community under a 50 percent subsidy scheme has been successful. The Government is providing these multiday trawlers to the fishermen in order to maintain the high quality of the fish resources captured by the multi-day trawlers in the deep sea and to increase the quantity of captured fish in quantum terms. Under the program, 10 multi-day fishing trawlers at 70 million rupees each was given to the fishermen with a 50 percent subsidy. The first two vessels were purchased by a fisherman in Negombo. The first catch by those trawlers in the deep sea was brought to the shore yesterday at the Negombo Harbor. The fishermen who had engaged in deep sea fishing near Somalia for a month and a half, had brought 14,000 kilograms of high quality tuna fish. According to the Ministry, 95 percent of the fish stored in the multi-day trawler with high-tech capabilities was of high quality. Measures have been taken to export all these fish to foreign countries including the United States. A team of officials including the Ministry Secretary Mangalika Adhikari participated in the observation of the unloading of the first fish stock. The Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Mahinda Amaraweera has advised to continue the program to provide multi-day fishing trawlers with the 50 percent subsidy in 2018 as well, Ministry Secretary Mangalika Adhikari said.