SRI LANKA COAST GUARD APPREHENDED A FSHING VESSEL WITH ILLEGALLY HARVESTED SHARK FINS

Sri Lanka Coast Guard personnel deployed at Mirissa fishery harbour for fishery monitoring and regulating duties, apprehended a Multiday Fishing Vessel along with six fishermen in possession of illegally harvested 31 no’s (approx. 2.8kg) of Blue Shark fins on 18th December 2020.

The apprehension was done during a search operation carried out on board a Multiday Fishing Vessel which was returned harbour after a month long fishing. Apprehended items had been hidden in a compartment as they were found by the Coast Guard personnel. The retaining on board, transshipping or landing the ‘fins of any shark species’ is an offence under the Shark Fisheries Management Regulations, 2015.

The arrested persons with apprehended items were handed over to Fisheries Inspector, Mirissa for onward legal actions.