(UTV|COLOMBO) – Norwegian Research Vessel Dr Fridtjof Nansen will arrive in Sri Lanka on June 21 to conduct a research study on marine resources.
The research study will be carried out in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters in the Bay of Bengal for 26 days with the participation of Sri Lankan scientists and researchers.
This is part of the technical and institutional cooperation on Fisheries between Norway and Sri Lanka, which was endorsed by the top level political authorities of the two countries.
The aim of the planned survey is to know the current status of marine resources including fish stocks and to investigate stocks of unexploited/ underutilized fishery resources on the continental shelf and slope. The last stock assessment for Sri Lanka has been carried out by the previous Dr. Fridtjof Nansen in 1978 to 1980.
Addressing a media briefing held in Colombo recently, Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther said the Nansen visit gives an opportunity to highlight the good and longstanding development cooperation between Sri Lankan and Norway, especially on fisheries which started in 1971.
“This also gives us a chance to highlight the importance of sustainable marine resources management and to discuss some key environmental concerns, such as marine littering and pollution as well as potential of blue economy,” he said.
The new marine research vessel RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen is owned by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and is jointly operated by the Institute of Marine Research of Norway, and Food and Agriculture organization to help developing countries improve their fisheries management.
The vessel is one of the most advanced research vessels in the world and brings together state-of-the-art technology with world class expertise on marine resource management.
The present Norwegian support to the fisheries sector includes assistance in developing a fisheries policy for Sri Lanka which has already been approved by the Cabinet. The implementation of the policy and the revisions of the fisheries legislation and institutional restructuring as appropriate will be important in time to come.
Norway also supports technical and institutional cooperation between the Institute of Marine Resources in Norway and NARA in Sri Lanka on sustainable management of fisheries resources in Sri Lanka.
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