Sri Lanka to receive green card for fish exports in Europe

News Desk

The Island

Publication Date : 09-05-2013

 

As a number of steps had been taken to eradicate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Sri Lanka, the European Union (EU) would issue the green card for a Sri Lanka’s fish exports in June, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr. RajithaSenaratne said yesterday.

Addressing the media at the Government Information Department, he said that he and his officials went to Brussels and met EU Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Director General Lowri Evans and briefed him on the steps taken to eradicate illegal fishing.

"My discussion with EU officials was fruitful. We were able to impress upon them about our case. We submit all our documents and statistics relating to the illegal fishing sector. The EU is happy about it," Dr. Senaratne said.

He said that the country was fully prepared to comply with any international regulations.

However, Sri Lanka’s compliance with international fisheries regulations had gone up to 47 percent from 10 percent over three years he said.

Sri Lanka had taken steps to ban purse seining, dynamite, light course fishing and stopped the sale and import of nets that damaged the fisheries resources, he said.

After the EU issued a Yellow Card warning last year to Sri Lanka and seven other countries on IUU fishing, Minister Senaratne took several steps to control illegal fishing. However the European Parliament will decide on June whether to impose sanctions on export of fish from Sri Lanka over the allegation of illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU) by Sri Lankan fishermen in international waters.

Dr. Senaratne said that the EU had complained about 11 Sri Lankan vessels intruding into international waters for fishing.

Arrests of Sri Lankan IUU vessels had fallen dramatically, he said. From 13 in 2011, it had fallen to one last year and this year upto May 2013 there was none, he said.

Meanwhile the minister said that the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act No. 2 of 1996 would be amended to introduce stiff penalties for vessels intruding into international waters. A fine of Rs.1.5 million or two year imprisonment, and confiscation of fishing equipment were some of the punishments proposed in the new legislation.

The Minister stressed that small countries like Sri Lanka did not harm marine resources like the big countries.

"We have only 300 multi-day fishing boats which are fishing in international seas. We could only catch around 10 MT fish per boat. But big countries are catching 900 MT fish per vessel," he said.

The EU is Sri Lanka’s dominant trading partner for fish and fisheries product exports, which bring in an income of Rs.22 billion annually.