We have read about bottom trawling fishing in the media: EU

The European Union yesterday said they were aware that Indian fishermen were engaged in Illegal Unregulated Unreported (IUU) fshing practices, but the delegation had not been formally informed by relevant authorities that the illegal catch was reaching EU approved factories.

Following are responses to questions sent by the Sunday Times to the EU delegation office in Colombo. The European Union (EU) has 'yellow carded' Sri Lanka for engaging in IUU fishing. Can you expand on this please and explain what a 'yellow card' means in this context. You are referring to the on going dialogue the EU is having with the Ministry of Fisheries on the implementation of certain measures in order to fully comply with the IUU regulations. These discussions are currently progressing well and it is hoped that by the end of February 2014 when these discussions are expected to formally conclude, all pending issues would be addressed. As these are formal bilateral discussions with the government, at the present time we will not be able to discuss the details. Is the EU aware that Indian fishermen are engaged in IUU fishing practices in Sri Lankan waters? The EU is aware about the issue you are referring to but I have no specific information concerning the details of Indian vessels. Is the EU aware that these fishermen are engaged in 'bottom trawling' (benthic trawling), a practice that scrapes the bottom of the sea bed and disturbs the marine environment - something that comes within the ambit of IUUF practices? We have read in the media about bottom trawling activities. If such activities are in fact taking place in Sri Lankan waters the Sri Lanka authorities have the right to bring it up with the country concerned. If EU fishing vessels are involved in such activities then I would welcome receiving through the usual channels more specific details such as the vessel number, coordinates of where such activity was detected and indicative times when such activities took place etc. These are needed so that we could pass on this information to our relevant institutions. Up to date we have not received any formal communication that such activities are being carried out by European Fishing Vessels. Is the EU aware that the 'catch' from such IUU fishing practices adopted by Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters, especially of prawns, shrimps and cuttle fish are processed at factories approved by the EU for export to EU countries?

We have read in the media about bottom trawling activities. If such activities are in fact taking place in Sri Lankan waters the Sri Lanka authorities have the right to bring it up with the country concerned. If EU fishing vessels are involved in such activities then I would welcome receiving through the usual channels more specific details such as the vessel number, coordinates of where such activity was detected and indicative times when such activities took place etc.

We are not aware nor has our delegation been formally informed by the relevant authorities about Indian Fishermen catching fish in Sri Lankan waters processing them in EU approved factories and exporting them to the EU. The approval of a fish processing factory for export to the EU relates to the technical standards of the factory, irrespective of the origin of the raw material being processed. Naturally, the fact that the two issues are separate does not mean that the processing of illegal catch in such a factory is condoned by the EU. On the contrary, the EU has long advocated the protection of fish stocks and addressing of the problem of illegal unregulated and unreported fishing practices.