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EU fishing ban could be lifted early next year: Fisheries Ministry
A Sri Lanka delegation that visited Brussels this week to discuss the EU’s fisheries ban on Sri Lanka, were told the prospects of lifting the ban early next year are high. The delegation held talks with the Director General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), who informed them that a technical team from the EU would visit the country in October, to evaluate the implementation process.
Fisheries Ministry Director General M.C.L. Fernando told the Sunday Times the outcome of their meeting with the EU officials was ‘very positive’ and they were hopeful the ban would be lifted by next February.“We have submitted a National Plan of Action to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing to the DG MARE. We have completed most of the tasks outlined by the EU in its recommendations. They appreciated our efforts to counter these issues,” he said.
The Sri Lanka delegation comprising of Director General of Fisheries, State Secretary of Fisheries Mrs W.M.M.R. Adikari and two other Assistant Director Generals from the ministry, returned home yesterday after the talks.
Mr Fernando said that after the EU technical team evaluated the Fisheries Ministry’s implementation process, they would take steps to revoke the formal listing of Sri Lanka as a non-cooperating country under the EU-IUU. “The team will report to the next sitting of the European Commission, which consists of 28 countries, for their approval to lift the ban,” he said.
He added that, even though they are on the correct path towards lifting the ban, they have to strengthen the legal and administrative aspects of the regulations to international level. “We have been told to introduce a new set of legal regulations as the mechanism for checks and balances of illegal fishing. We will do that too in the near future,” he said.
Meanwhile, addressing the weekly briefing, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman, Mahishini Colonne said the estimated loss of revenue during the ban is approximately US$ 75 million.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing a campaign rally in the Eastern Province this week too assured that the Government was working hard to get the European Union ban lifted in the next few months.