The case against eight Sri Lankan fishermen who are detained in Madagascar for engaging in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities will be taken up for hearing today (04 Aug).
According to the Sunday Times, the multi-day fishing vessel, which had departed from the Wellamankara fishing harbour on April 25, was seized by Madagascar’s maritime patrol on June 2 within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
At the time of seizure, it was 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 also not flying a national flag at the time of its capture, complicating identification.
The Malagasy Police had also 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.
A previous court proceeding in Madagascar, conducted in French, was postponed to today due to the unavailability of a Sinhala-French translator.
It is reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stepped in to provide a Sinhala-French interpretation for the upcoming court hearing to assist the fishermen who are detained in Madagascar.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its Consular Affairs Division and in coordination with the Sri Lanka High Commission in Seychelles, accredited to Madagascar, has been actively engaged in the matter. (Newswire)