National Policy and Strategy on Cleaner Production for Fisheries Sector

1. Preamble Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the ocean and rich with inland water bodies. Thus, it is fair to say that our country owns a considerable marine, inland and ,brackish water resources to carry out fisheries activities in a sustainable manner. Due to the importance of fish consumption as a cheap source of protein and the large contribution of the sector to income and employment generation, fisheries industry has a major significance in the Sri Lankan social and economical perspective. There is a tendency among coastal community and the rural community living in the vicinity of inland water bodies to engage in the fisheries industry as it requires comparatively a less initial investment. As a result, this industry consumes considerable amount of offshore, near shore, lagoon, inland and coral reef _associated aquatic resources. Therefore it is necessary to take measures to minimize the harmful impacts to environment and manage these resources for the consumption of future generations. These objectives can be accomplished by incorporating cleaner production concepts and routines to production activities in the fisheries sector. The cleaner production methodology in the fisheries industry implies to the conservation of fisheries and aquatic resources, secure the quality and safety of fishery products and setting offprecautionary mechanisms for adverse impacts on environment which result from making use of harmful fishing gears, techniques and raw materials. The adoption to the environmentally friendly cleaner production methodology and consumption patterns is a prime necessity within the vision of b_ecoming a leader in the South Asia region in sustainable utilization of fisheries and aquatic resources.

2. Vision Sri Lanka becomes a leader in the South Asian region m sustainable uti Iization of fisheries and aquatic resources. '

03. Mission· ' Directing the utilization of fisheries and aquatic .resources m an eco-friendly manner for the benefit of the current and future generations. ·04. Policy Goals , 4.1 ,To achieve and ensure sustainable fisheries development in Sri Lanka; 4.2 To ensure high standard of quality and safety offish and aqQatic pr~ducts produced in Sri Lanka; 4.3 To ensure management and conservation of fisheries, aquatic .and coastal resources ofthe country; 4.4 To alleviate poverty and upgrade the living standards of the fisher and .coastal communities; 4.5 To. contribute to the country's economy in significant and ecologically sustainable manner. '

05. Policy,Objectives , 5.1 To improve nutritjonal status and food security of people by increasing the national fish production in an environmentally sustainable manner; 5.2 "To conserv~ the coastal and aquatic envirom:nent to ensure the long term_ sustainability ofthe ecosystem; 5.3 To prevent/minimize post harvest losses and improve quality and safety of -fish and aquatic products to EU (European U:nion) standard levels; . 5 .4 To increase employment opportunities in fisheries sector',and improve the socio-economic status of_ the fisher communities while maintaining the stability of the ecosystem; . 5.5 To increase th~ foreign exchange earnings from fish and aquatic product exports in an ecologically sustainable manner.

6. Policy Statements 6.1 Promote the principles of responsible fisheries management through co- management; 6.2 Promote stock enhancement in perennial and seasonal water bodies and . promote culture fishing with due attention to environmental sustainability; 6.3 Enhance fish production by adopting appropriate environmental friendly fishing gear and methods with special emphasis on deep sea and high sea fishing; 6.4 Develop and promote aquaculture as an environmentally friendly, socially acceptable andmarket driven in.dustry through Best Management Practices; 6.5 Encourage the culture ofmarine, brackish water and.fresh water fish species ' and .other aquatic organisms including ornament~! fish, reducing the stress on natural fish stocks; 6.6 Promote appropriate technologies to minimize-post harvest losses and also • I ' • to ensure quality, safety and hygienic standards .o ffish and aquatic products; p.7 Assign priority to applied research leading'to development of fisheries and . aq~tic resources including aquaculture, paying due attention to the environmental concerns; 6.8 Promote public/private partnerships in fisheries and fish processing by adopting ecologically sound practices; . . 6.9 Promote deep sea and high sea fisheries, inland fisheries and aquaculture to increase employment opportunities maintaining the sustainability of the ecosysteµi; ' • 6.10 Promote diversification and skill develop.ment of the livelihqod·of fisher communities to increase the socio.-economic -status of them, ensuring sustainable utilization offisheries and aquatic resour~es; - 6.11 Apply cleaner production concepts and practices at all steps in fishing industry·where applicabJe.

07. Strategies 7 . 1 Apply proper handling practices of fish from harvest to final product ensuring product quality and hygienic conditions ; 7.2 Take measures to pre\·en U mitigate over-fishing and promote limited entry fishing ; 7.3 Take necessary measures to conserve the endangered species by creating awareness among the fishermen and relevant stakeholders; 7.4 Develop environmentally friendl y and cost effective fishing gear, \·essels, fishing techniques and practices , create awareness among fi shermen and promote appli cation of these practices: 7.5 Adopt measures to conserve the resources through establishing closed seasons and closed areas for fishing ; 7.6 Conduct fish stock surveys at appropriate intervals to ensure sustainability of the ecosystem: 7.7 Minimize post harvest losses and promote new products based on fish waste; 7.8 Develop/introduce env ironn1entally friendl y and economically viable fish waste disposal systems; 7.9 Prevent disposal of hazardous waste including waste oil and untreated effluents into aquatic en vironment by improving existing systems and developing new systems; 7.10 Develop and continuous ly update the knowledge on social, environmental , economic and institutional factors that help ensure sustainable fisheries management through data gathering & anal ysis, monitoring & evaluation and research; 7. 11 fommlate effective legal and administrati ve meas ures at national and local authority le ve l for fisheries resource conserva tion and management: 7 .12 Develop and impiement an integrated plan to optimize fish production and distribution offish by adopting ecologically sound practices; • 7.13 Prepare resource management pl,ans in par with International Plan of Actions orr fishing capacity, sharks, seabirds and illegal, unreported and ' ' ' unregulated (IUU) fishing; , I 7 .14 Es.tablish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms 'a.nd reporting-systems to , f I ensure the sustainability of the impl~me~tation of the National Cleaner Production Fisheries Policy.. /.