The Sri Lankan government has initiated diplomatic intervention to secure the release of eight fishermen detained in Madagascar for engaging in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.
Deputy Minister of Fisheries Rathna Gamage said the multi-day fishing vessel was seized by maritime patrol on June 2 within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The vessel had departed from the Wellamankara fishing harbour on April 25.
Authorities in Madagascar reported that the crew failed to produce valid entry documents or fishing licenses and had tampered with navigation data and the Automatic Identification System (AIS). The vessel was not flying a national flag at the time of its capture, complicating identification.
The Malagasy Police discovered 16,125 kilograms of frozen shark heads, 1,618 kilograms of dried shark fillets, 23 kilograms of dried shark fins, and 4 kilograms of dried shark gills aboard. The shark species are listed under Appendix II of the CITES agreement.
Sri Lankan officials said the vessel owner failed to inform authorities or the fishermen’s families, and allegedly pressured families not to report the incident.
Court proceedings in Madagascar, conducted in French, were postponed to August 4 due to the unavailability of a Sinhala-French translator. Deputy Minister Gamage confirmed discussions with the Sri Lankan Embassy in Seychelles to arrange interpretation support.
The Department of Fisheries and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are actively working to expedite the release of the fishermen, officials said. (Newswire)
