Sri Lanka (LKA)
From Sri Lanka's Amazing Maritime website:
Most of Sri Lanka's National Parks, Strict Natural Reserves and Marine Sanctuaries are set aside for the conservation of wildlife with a focus on mainly conserving terrestrial habitats. The recent few decades have seen a shift to protecting marine life with a focus on coral ecosystems and marine turtles. We hope that this shift will continue to move much further and swiftly to include protection of endangered marine species, fragile marine ecosystems including shipwrecks and critical marine habitats. With marine tourism rising rapidly this focus becomes all the more important.
Urgently needed are further protective measures for sharks, rays, sawfish, reef fish, seagrass beds, areas around shipwrecks, Trincomalee's outer harbour and extension to all marine mammals and further coral ecosystems. Protection for mammals such as humpback dolphins and dugongs that have been squeezed out of most of their habitats needs urgent attention. In the absence of protective measures it is imperative that we all take responsibility for our actions and self-regulate by following best practices as those recommended on this website.
Marine Protected Areas (MPA) are totally part of the marine environment. For example, Bar Reef Marine Sanctuary and Rumassala Marine Sanctuary. The Marine Associated Protected Areas (MAPA) identified in the tables either share a boundary with the marine environment or is partially part of the marine environment.
Marine Ordinances & Acts
Sri Lanka's Coastal Zone Management Plan, the National Environmental Act, the Fisheries Ordinance and the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance provide guidelines and regulations for the use and protection of the marine environment in general and sensitive marine ecosystems.
The Fauna and Flora Protection (Amendment) Act, No. 49 of 1993 empower the Director, Department of Wildlife and Conservation to take necessary measures for the protection of the fauna and flora of Sri Lanka. The Act provides for the establishment of marine sanctuaries, marine reserves, buffer zones etc. Entry into, and activities in, some of these areas are totally prohibited; in others, control is by permits or licenses. In yet others, restrictions are more relaxed.
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act No. 2 of 1996 replaced the Fisheries Ordinance of 1940 and all the amendments to it, and provides for the management, regulation, conservation and development of fisheries and aquatic resources in Sri Lanka.
Although fishing for indigenous sporting fish in Sri Lanka is virtually free it is regulated. The Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Amendment) Act, No. 25 of 2013 and other important regulations may be obtained from the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR). Some sea fish species are prohibited by law from being taken in Sri Lankan waters. DFAR has provisions for banning the use of destructive fishing gear, declaration of fisheries reserves and licensing system for all fishing operations.
In 1980, Cabinet approval had been granted to the Ministry of Fisheries to declare the Hikkaduwa Harbour area, Polhena Reef area, Great and Little Basses Reefs, Passekuda and Kalkuda Bay and the Pigeon Island as Marine Sanctuaries under the Fisheries Ordinance. Yala Strict Natural Reserve, declared in 1938, has a short coastline and is normally not opened to visitors without a special permit.
Sri Lanka maritime laws are available for download. Further reading: Concerns deeper than the Ocean by Prof. Sarath De Silva.
Polythene and Regiform banned to reduce environmental pollution
In July 2017, Cabinet approval had been granted for a series of measures to gradually end the use of polythene and regiform.
These include the ban of:
Polythene for decorative purposes at all national, social, and religious ceremonies.
Import, manufacture or sale of shopping bags and lunch sheets made of polythene.
Import, manufacture or sale of containers (lunch boxes), plates, cups and spoons made of polystyrene
Sale of processed or cooked meals packed in polythene containers.
These measures are in addition to the existing ban on polythene less than 20 microns in thickness on the approval of the Central Environment Authority (CEA).
Spearfishing in Sri Lankan waters is a chargeable offence by law ( Gazette Extraordinary No: 2008/31 of 0303.2017).
Sri Lankan law (Antiquities Ordinance No. 9 of 1940) prohibits any sunken vessel within territorial waters older than 100 years to be salvaged including removal of artifacts without a permit.
Removal of bêche-de-mer (sea cucumbers), corals, chanks and shells from Mannar to a point 2 miles south of Talawila is banned. Harvesting of sea cucumbers within 5 nm of the shoreline all around Sri Lanka is not permitted.
You are breaking the law if you go whale and dolphin watching in Sri Lankan waters or visit a marine national park or sanctuary without a permit (park fee) from the Department of Wildlife and Conservation (DWC).
No person can use a local fishing boat to fish in Sri Lanka Waters unless a certificate of registration is issued in respect of such fishing vessel. In addition, for any person to engage in any prescribed fishing operation in Sri Lankan waters, a fishing operation license is required as per Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Amendment) Act No. 35 of 2013.
'No person shall catch thresher shark species, of the family Alopiidae when engaged in any fishing operation, recreational or sport fishing’, and that ‘no owner or skipper of a fishing boat shall retain onboard, transship, land, store, sell or offer for sale any part or whole carcass’.
In addition to the ban on shark finning at sea, the whale shark and Oceanic whitetip shark have been added as protected species under the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act of Sri Lanka and CITES Appendix II.
