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EU recommendations fulfilled, lifting fisheries ban awaited
View(s):The Fisheries Ministry has implemented almost all the recommendations outlined by the European Union (EU) early this year and is awaiting the EU technical team to arrive and determine whether the ban on Sri Lankan fisheries products could be lifted.
Fisheries Department Director General M. C. L. Fernando told the Sunday Times that a technical team from the EU is due to arrive on November 13 to evaluate and inspect the ongoing implementation process of the Government.
Fish market in Peliyagoda: Hopes are high that the EU ban on Sri Lankan fisheries products will be lifted soon. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Soon after the ban came into effect in January, the Ministry had formulated a ‘National Action Plan’ comprising 57 tasks which needed to be achieved to get the ban lifted.
Similarly to the action taken by the Philippines to avoid a possible ban on its fisheries products by taking effective legal action in May this year, the Government took steps to increase penalties for violations of the international law of the sea, he said.
“To get the ban lifted we have to convince every EU member country that we are not violating any international law or regulations safeguarding sustainable fisheries resources. We also need to get the majority support of the EU Parliament,” Mr. Fernando said.
Taking into consideration the plight of the local fishermen, heavy fines will be imposed on those fishermen engaged in fishing in the high seas.
Fines imposed for incursions into the territorial waters of another country and engaging in fishing in the high seas without a valid licence has been increased from Rs. one million to Rs. 150 million considering the size of the boat involved, he said.
The Fisheries Ministry has ensured that the number of licences issued for fishing on the high seas will not exceed the agreed limit of 1,615. So far 1,571 licences have been issued and the details provided to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), Mr. Fernando said.
One of the pilot projects implemented by the Ministry is the installation of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) equipment on the vessels which go fishing on the high seas. Up to now 1,291 such vessels have VMS equipment installed, he said.
The main VMS centre also known as the Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) is now fully functional and the Ministry is now able to monitor all vessels with VMS transponders using this mechanism, Director General Fernando said.
In the FMC, daily reports of vessel arrivals, cruise track map, and data on the location of the vessels are being analyzed at this centre and sent to the field officers including the High Seas Fishing Unit, a new unit set up to monitor the activities of vessels.
This special unit communicates with the field officers at harbours regarding the log book data on the catch and other activities.
Since August this year, 508 landings were made by VMS equipped vessels. 244 log sheets collected and 203 trips verified using the data collected from the FMC. Eight violations were also identified and inquiries instituted.
With regard to legal action against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) violations, the Fisheries Department has prosecuted 29 cases with the cancellation of 41 skipper fishing licences and three high seas fishing licences.
At least 105 inquiries are still pending and two export permits have been cancelled.
One of the recommendations by the EU is to carry out awareness programmes among the fisher community on high seas fishing and the effect of illegal fishing on fisheries resources. So far 37 awareness activities were completed islandwide with the participation of Navy, Coast Guard and Fisheries Department officials.