EU bans Sri Lanka’s fisheries products

The European Union (EU) has decided to ban the import of fisheries products which were caught in Sri Lanka from entering the EU market due to illegal fishing, said an EU official in a statement on Tuesday.

The European Commission had sent a warning to Sri Lanka in November saying that they were not following international rules on fishing and that their control systems were illegally inadequate.

EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, told a news conference that, "Five countries receive today our appreciation for getting serious on illegal fishing. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Sri Lanka. I hope that the message we are sending today will be a wake-up call for this country."

She said that Sri Lanka is authorizing huge vessels to fish in the Indian Ocean without marine GPS (VMS) and that this renders control totally impossible.

Damanaki said Sri Lanka is the second biggest exporter of fresh and chilled swordfish and tuna to the EU and in those circumstances the EU cannot tolerate not knowing whether the fish they import into the EU was caught sustainably or not.

"So today, the Commission goes to the next level; we are formally identifying Sri Lanka in the fight against illegal fishing. Fisheries products caught by vessels labelled in Sri Lanka will not be able to enter the EU market after three months’ time from now."

"The council will, by that time, have the possibility to confirm and extend the depth and scope of the trade measures," she added.

by Hafsa Sabry