Govt. acts to bolster Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development

The Government yesterday said that they had taken steps to strengthen the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development for the immediate withdrawal of the European Union fish export ban.  

Cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne, addressing the weekly Cabinet briefing, pointed out that

Sri Lanka had lost a market of approximately $ 100 million due to the ban enacted by the European Union in November 2014. 

“Initial steps have already been implemented for the withdrawal of this ban such as processing the basic legal framework, strengthening the capacity of law enforcement, training and educating partners and establishing a craft supervision system. The proposal made by the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Mahinda Amaraweera to take necessary action to strengthen the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development in this regard, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers,” Senaratne said.

Senaratne added that the Cabinet gave its permission for the enhancement of educational opportunities for Afghan student cadets at the General Sir John Kotelawela Defence University, to complete the activities of the Deyata Kirula National Development program started in 2015, to waive off the requirement of obtaining visas for people holding diplomatic passports between Sri Lanka and Romania and to prevent the misuse of the Sri Lankan national Flag. 

Speaking about this, Senaratne said that the Cabinet approved a proposal made by the Minister of Home Affairs Joseph Michael Perera to appoint a committee to prepare an officially-accepted decorative flag that could be used at festivals by the Government as well as the general public. 

“It has been observed that the Sri Lankan national flag is being used in contravention to the codes of regulations approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in 1986 in respect to this flag.  Therefore a decision was taken to appoint a committee to prepare an officially accepted decorative flag which could be used at festivals by the Government as well as the general public and to instruct the legal department to formulate the necessary legal framework to make the existing set of regulations laws of the country in order to prevent the misuse of the national flag,” he said. 

He added that an agreement was made between the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and trade unions to strengthen the management relationship between employees and the electricity board. The Cabinet had also agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Sri Lanka and Russia on developing mass media relationships, to complete the construction work of the Kotmale Mahaweli Maha Seya 2015, to allocate blocks of land from regional industrial cities for the establishment of industries, to construct an observatory in the premises of the Sri Lanka planetarium, to make more than 30% of the total candidates contesting in Provincial Council elections female candidates in nomination papers submitted by political parties or groups, the procurement of 500 MT of full cream milk powder for the production of Thriposha for the 2015/2016 period,  to award the contract for the supply of consultancy services for the Southern Road Connectivity Project funded by the Asian Development Bank, to amend the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance No. 19 of 1931 and to  proceed with the Theravada Bhikkhu Katikavata Registration Bill.