Greenpeace has welcomed the ban placed on imports of fisheries products from Sri Lanka, after the country failed to co-operate in the fight against illegal fishing, said the organisaiton.
The environmental NGO said Sri Lanka had “failed to co-operate in the global fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing".
Welcoming the decision, Saskia Richartz, Greenpeace EU oceans policy director said,
“The EU is a major market for seafood products from all over the world. It has a duty to protect the environment and consumers and improve labour standards, regardless of whether it is producing its own seafood or buying it from others. Where diplomatic efforts fail, the EU is right to ban the imports of products from countries like Sri Lanka that fail to manage their fisheries properly.”
Sri Lanka was previously Europe’s second biggest importer in the sector.
Richartz went on to say,
“Many EU-based companies invest and maintain joint fishing operations with companies and vessels registered in countries which are weak on fisheries governance. The EU should do more to identify and prevent investments into fishing activities that are unsustainable, unequitable or even illegal.”
See our earlier post: EU bans fisheries imports from Sri Lanka (14 October 2014)