Sri Lanka, July 9 -- The Government has approved the installation of Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) on 1,500 fishing vessels at State expense to strengthen maritime surveillance and curb illegal activities at sea, said the Cabinet spokesman and the Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.
Speaking at the weekly cabinet press briefing on Tuesday (7), he further said that Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, along with maritime crimes such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and the smuggling of illicit goods, remains a major challenge for Sri Lanka and other fishing nations.
"As a member of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), Sri Lanka is required to ensure that all fishing vessels operating in internati...