The Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Ramalingam Chandrasekar, and the Secretary to the Ministry, Dr. B. K. Kolitha Kamal Jinadasa, participated in the 30th session of the Coastal States Alliance (CSA 030) that initiated on 30th of January in Bali, Indonesia.
The conference has been held on 30th and 31st of January 2026 with the participation of representatives from 12 coastal states belonging to the Indian Ocean region. The main objective of this meeting is to promote fair, sustainable, and law-abiding management of Tuna (Yellowfin Tuna), a migratory fish species, within the framework of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC).
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Madagascar, Mozambique, Pakistan, Somalia, and South Africa are members of this alliance.
Participating in this meeting, the Sri Lankan delegation paid special attention to the following issues:
- Conservation of tuna fish stocks: Building a common vision among member countries to protect tuna populations, which is a freely migrating fish species in the ocean.
- Collective Agreement: To establish a strong basis for discussions with Distant Water Fishing Nations (DWFN) to safeguard the national requirements of coastal countries in the region at the upcoming meetings of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC).
- Enhancing Cooperation: To strengthen mutual understanding among countries on the sharing and management of ocean resources.
As an outcome of this summit, a joint statement on the establishment of the Coastal States Alliance (CSA) is to be issued, and a Memorandum of Understanding in this regard is to be signed at the "Ocean Impact Summit 2026" which is scheduled to be held in Bali in June 2026.
During this visit, Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar emphasized the importance of international cooperation for maintaining a sustainable fisheries industry.
