Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2011-12-07

Establishment of a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)

- at present about 3000 multi-day fishing vessels owned by Sri Lankan fishermen are being operated in the deep sea and in international waters in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka, as a member and a contracting party of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission is required to establish and operate a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) for the vessels operating in the high seas. This will immensely benefit the country to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing practices in the region. The proposal made by Hon. (Dr.) Rajitha Senaratne, Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, to appoint a Cabinet Appointed Negotiating Committee and a Technical Evaluation Committee to evaluate the proposal received in this regard, was approved by the Cabinet.