Navy apprehends persons engaged in illegal fishing activities
On receipt of information to the Navy, Coast Guard personnel attached to the Western Naval Command in coordination with the official of Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources apprehended a person with 272 kg of Thresher Shark during a raid carried out at the Fish Market Complex in Negombo yesterday (04 September 2017).
The apprehended person along with the stock of Thresher Shark was handed over to the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Negombo for onward legal action.
According to the Fisheries Act, the Thresher Shark which belongs to the ‘Alopedo’ family has been listed as vulnerable species to extinction. Further it is prohibited to catch them for human consumption, as a sport or entertainment. In the same vein, storing, loading, unloading or selling of a Thresher Shark or any part of its body is too prohibited
Meanwhile, 12 more persons and 02 dinghies were apprehended for engaging in illegal fishing practices using unauthorized fishing nets in Uppuweli, Trincomalee on 03rd September 2017, by the naval personnel attached to the Eastern Naval Command. During the arrest, 2 unauthorized fishing nets (Surukku), 3 diving masks, a pair of diving fins and 160 kg of fish-catch were also taken into naval custody. The arrested suspects together with their dinghies and other fishing gear were handed over to the Assistant Director of Fisheries in Trincomalee for further investigations.
