- Gaps in high sea fleet tracking should be filled urgently
- Help us with some concessions: Fishermen
- A call to regulate smaller boats
Sri Lanka’s fishing industry, which earned nearly $ 290 million in exports last year, continues to face legacy challenges, with authorities struggling to regulate and manage a nearly 5,500-strong high seas fishing fleet which traverses the expanse of the Indian Ocean on a daily basis.
This, as Sri Lankan policymakers envisage creating a ‘Blue Economy’ to aid in building a stable and prosperous nation in the future.
Since the end of the armed conflict in 2009, Sri Lankan fishermen increased high seas fishing and today are found engaged in fishing from the Arabian Sea to the water off the French Reunion Islands and the British overseas territories of the Chagos Archipelago to the Bay of Bengal and even south of the Andaman Sea.
The wide proliferation of this high sea fleet, often referred to as ‘multi day-fishing vessels,’ are in need of better regulation as the distance they travel and their endurance makes the status difficult to manage.
The Sri Lankan Fishing Vessels (FVs) which engage in high seas fishing – beyond the 200 Nautical Mile (NM) limit of Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) – remain at sea for more than a month. Some vessels, especially those engaged in the lucrative tuna fishing, return to port with their catch after nearly two months.
According to the Sri Lanka Navy, local authorities face challenges in responding to such FVs which develop mechanical trouble or medical emergencies onboard due to the vast distance the FVs travel from Sri Lanka. The image gives an indication of the distance local FVs navigate to engage in fishing across the Indian Ocean.
The SLN also points to increasing illegal activity, transnational crimes such as trafficking in narcotics, persons, and arms, which some of the Sri Lankan high seas FVs have been linked to.
The wide proliferation of Sri Lankan fishing vessels and the concerns about tracking and managing them was also raised by former Navy Chief of Staff Admiral (Retd) Y.N. Jayarathna during a recent trilateral dialog on Indian Ocean maritime corporation, organised by the think tank Factum.
He pointed out that the wide proliferation and distances which the local FVs travel stretch the limited resources Sri Lanka had to monitor and regulate the fishing fleet while trying to combat criminal activity.
Improvement despite gaps
While Sri Lanka’s ability to track and monitor local high seas fishing vessels has improved over the past five years, gaps in the system and lacklustre enforcement of regulations persist.
In June last year, a 24/7 Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) was launched in Colombo, as part of the Sri Lanka Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) project implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with assistance from Australia.
The programme, called ‘Sri Lanka VMS project,’ is expected to have nearly 4,200 Multi-day Fishing Vessels (MFVs) equipped with VMS transponders which will enable the fisheries authorities to effectively monitor the movements of the FVs, ensuring compliance with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) regulations on Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated (IUU) fisheries.
Australia recently announced the donation of a maritime patrol aircraft to boost Sri Lanka’s maritime domain awareness and to help fight maritime crime.
The Sri Lanka Navy, responding to queries by The Sunday Morning, acknowledged the difficulties involved in managing the local FV fleet. According to the SLN, with part of the FV still lacking satellite Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and the practice of fishermen switching them off (going dark) to engage in illegal activities, there is a serious challenge in tracking and regulating the fleet.
The SLN also said that weak enforcement of regulations by the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR) and fewer fines being issued to violations have emboldened some fishermen to breach rules and regulations.
“As per the rules and regulations of Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), every fishing vessel operating in high seas is to carry the satellite based Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). However, it is very difficult to monitor their movements due to the following reasons: nonavailability of tracking devices (VMS) in some fishing vessels – there are gaps, fishermen switching off tracking devices when engage in illegal activities, and there being no regular legal action to enforce the law by the DFAR for violation of rules,” SLN said.
Strong penalties
When asked if Sri Lankan FVs violate foreign EEZ and territorial waters, the SLN said that most of the fishermen do abide by international demarcations due to high fines introduced by fishery regulations for prohibited methods of fishing in foreign waters and EEZs, followed by stern legal action by neighbouring countries.
According to All Ceylon Fishing Vessels Owners’ Association Chairman Tiron Fernando, Sri Lanka’s high seas FVs are generally fearful of operating in foreign EEZs due to strong penalties levied by the authorities of the respective counties.
“Sometimes they lock up the crew and the courts sentence them to prison terms or issue huge fines. They also confiscate the catch and the boat. Some countries even photograph our vessels in their waters from aircraft or via satellite and initiate legal action in Sri Lanka with the pictures as evidence. Some fishermen have been fined between Rs. 1.5-2 million,” Fernando explained.
However, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development (DFAR) Director General S.J. Kahawatta claimed that regulations were being enforced against local FVsʼ illegal practices.
“We have enforced the law against FVs switching off their VMS transponders. The law states that the VMS system should function 24/7. Further, it is now difficult to disconnect the VMSs which were recently introduced as they have to be removed from the batteries to do so and that triggers an alarm in our monitoring system. We have taken action against several offenders who have done so. Only a handful do it.”
When asked about the how the DFAR plans to address concerns about the remaining FVs which were not equipped with VMS systems, Kahawatta said that the Government planned to install VMS transponders on the remaining FVs by the end of the year or by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
Regulate fibreglass dinghies
A senior security official speaking to The Sunday Morning on terms of anonymity said that the gaps in tracking the high seas fleet must be filled quickly and that Sri Lanka should introduce a coastal tracking system for thousands of Fibreglass Dinghy Boats (FDBs) which are launched from hundreds of unregulated beaches along the island’s coastline.
“Yes, we need to have the VMS system for all the deep sea FVs. That is a must. We also need to invest in new technology like satellite imaging to be able to monitor and fine foreign vessels which enter our EEZ and territorial waters. A major concern left unchecked over the years is the thousands of smaller FDBs which are sparsely regulated and not monitored at all. The traffickers and smugglers are adapting to what we do.
“At present, a Sri Lankan high seas FV which will bring a narcotics consignment to Sri Lanka will not bring it to a shore or to a fishing port; they unload the consignment off to several FDBs, which then run them to a waiting team on multiple beaches. We need to improve our coastal surveillance system and the policymakers must look at regulating the FDBs too. They are the weak link now. In the north, it’s the FDBs which are mostly used to smuggle narcotics, gold, and other contraband between India and Sri Lanka,” the source said.
According to the official, during the conflict, the FDBs – smaller boats with outboard motors – were only launched to sea for fishing from designated marshalling points, from where they were closely regulated. However, post-war, neither the resources nor the personnel needed for such a massive undertaking are available.
He also pointed out that a coastal tracking system would enable the coastal fishermen to go about their daily business without being inconvenienced by having rallies at marshalling points along the coast.
He also stressed that, to respond to emergencies at sea and to thwart maritime crime in the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, the Sri Lankan authorities needed to invest in developing robust air surveillance and response capability.
“Even if we have a good monitoring system, we need to be able to respond in a timely manner and that means air capability, both shore-based and at sea. If you consider the recent incident regarding the Chinese fishing vessel capsizing near the equator, Sri Lanka has no air capability to launch a search and rescue mission. We could only send our divers to conduct a recovery mission to secure the dead.
“Similarly, we need to have some air capability from the ships to respond quickly when we get a distress call or see some suspicious activity going on. Ship-borne aviation capability, like helicopters or unmanned systems, or both, should be considered. Such capability will enable the Navy, Coast Guard, or Air Force – often the first responder – to collect evidence, render assistance in the event of a distressed vessel, or intercept any criminal activity on site,” the source opined.
Subsidies needed
According to the All Ceylon Fishing Vessels Owners’ Association, a monthly fee charged by the DFAR for the maintenance and subscription of the VMS is adding to their difficulties.
“Earlier, the DFAR used to charge us Rs. 3,000 a month for the VMS subscription, but now they charge us Rs. 6,500. That adds to our problems. We still struggle with the high cost of diesel which is issued to us without a subsidy. About 30% of our deep sea fleet is tied up and does not operate due to the high cost of fuel,” Chairman Fernando said.
Fernando urged authorities to consider issuing fuel subsidies or to remove some of the taxes for fuel to help the FVs get back to sea. He also complained that the lack of cold storage and ice plants resulted in significant portions of the catch being discarded – a loss he stressed that the fishermen and seafood exporters could not bear.
IUU fishing challenge
According to the DFAR and the Sri Lanka Navy, the longstanding issue of Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported (IUU) fishing in Sri Lankan waters and its EEZ continues, with both local and foreign fishermen breaching Sri Lanka’s laws and poaching valuable nutritional and export resources on a daily basis.
Indian fishing vessels remain the major foreign actor in IUU fishing in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters and EEZ, with the SLN and DFAR stating that intrusion and poaching by fishing vessels from other countries are less frequent.
According to the SLN, the release of captured trawlers used for poaching, including the use of the prohibited bottom trawling method, does little to deter Indian FVs from returning to Sri Lankan waters. They also charged that the lack of fines issued to the Indian fishermen and vessels had wreaked Sri Lanka’s deterrent capacity.
“The lack of media coverage in Sri Lanka regarding poaching in Sri Lankan waters, compared to the coverage received when poachers are apprehended in their home country, does little to help build pressure on local lawmakers to take a stance and not change it,” a senior security official said.