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Policy reversal: Foreign vessels to fish under Lankan flag
View(s):Foreign fishing companies are to be invited again to carry out fishing operations under the Sri Lankan flag, but under strict regulations, including an observer on board, a senior official said yesterday. Fisheries Director General M.C.L. Fernando told the Sunday Times that foreign vessels would have to adhere to regulations which had been gazetted and would be presented in Parliament next week for approval.
The move to invite foreign vessels comes after the new Government cancelled eight fishing licences issued to a Chinese company following allegations that some of its vessels were engaged in Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing methods and transferred their catch to a third party in mid sea.
The new regulations would also prohibit foreign vessels from transferring their catch to any other boat or port without prior approval from the Director General. Mr. Fernando said that due to these problems, no licences had been issued to foreign vessels, but now licences would be issued on a guarantee of responsible fishing practices.
Under the new regulations, the Director General would be authorised to deploy a scientific observer on the foreign vessel for inspection and data collection during fishing operations and to ensure no unauthorised fishing gear was carried.
Satellite-based Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) equipment also will be installed in the vessels to monitor their location and the data will be transmitted to the nearest monitoring centre, he said.
He said that with the new regulations, Sri Lanka could eliminate the shortcomings pointed out by the European Union before the imposition of the ban on Sri Lankan fish exports. In a related move, the Government has also gazetted regulations requiring Sri Lankans wishing to serve in a foreign flagged fishing vessel to obtain a licence from the Fisheries Department.
Sri Lankans will also be prohibited from working for a vessel or company that has been found to be involved in IUU fishing.