Vessel Monitoring system for Lanka?

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry is to go into managing fishing on the high seas after establishing a suitable Vessel Monitoring System for Sri Lanka.

The Daily News reliably learns the "establishment of a Vessel Monitoring System(VMS) is to become a policy as it will be included in the National Fisheries Policy document in due course.

Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratna had discussed possibilities of Sri Lanka getting financial and technical assistance from UK to establish a Vessel Monitoring System for Sri Lanka with British High Commission's Trade and Investment Chief Janet Ford. The meeting between Janet Ford and the Minister was held at the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry where the importance of having an effective mechanism to monitor, control and survey fishing to combat illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing that takes place on the high seas was emphasised, Fisheries Ministry sources said. .

Illegal unreported and unregulated fishing has become a major international problem with healthy fish populations that are critical to our oceans to provide food security for billions of people in the world.

And it will be of paramount importance for coastal states such as Sri Lanka to curb IUU fishing on the high seas of their territorial waters for food security because their economies are highly dependent on availability of fish to sustain their economies on a strong footing. Installation of Vessel Management System can also contribute to minimize human smuggling that takes place in the seas carried through some fishing vessels.

The United Nations General Assembly has also issued a directive in regard to monitoring, controlling and the surveillance of fishing activities on the high seas urging member states to establish mandatory vessel monitoring.