Poaching by Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters being reduced for the time being has benefitted the fisher community in the North, said a fisher folk trade union leader.
“There has been a reduction in complaints from fishermen in the North and the East regarding encroachment by fishermen of neighbouring countries which is a good sign and a good thing for our fisher community which is denied carrying out their livelihood freely,” said All-Ceylon Fisherfolk Trade Union President Aruna Fernando.
Entering Sri Lankan waters, Indian fishermen who use bottom trawling, a highly destructive technique of fishing that could damage the seabed and its habitats, has reduced to a great extent following arrests made by the Navy.
“It has always been the case of Indian fishermen gaining due to the size of the boats they use which is much larger than ours,” he said, adding that the quality of our fishing gear has always been low.
“We have been asking the authorities to provide advanced fishing gear such as boats, nets and weather forecasting systems but to no avail,” he said.
Meanwhile the fisher community in Sri Lanka has been concerned over the silence of the authorities on the proposed new Fisheries Act whether it means that the green light has been flashed for its enforcement.
“We are against a new Act camouflaged with the current destructive clauses and we would like to know for whose benefit it is done,” said Fernando.
Herman Kumara, a human rights defender, Secretary General of the World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP) and the Convener the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) of Sri Lanka said the local fisheries community has always been against leasing our seas to foreign fishing vessel operators.
“The technology of our small-scale single –day boat operator and multi-day vessel operators is no match to the technology of foreign vessel operators. So we will be the losers if the new fisheries Act goes through granting permission to foreign multi-day boat operators to use our marine resources without being regulated,” Kumara said.
The incumbent government set up a seven-member committee to study the existing Fisheries Act and make amendments accordingly.
“We have seen the draft amendments of the proposed new Act but our views are not taken in to consideration,” Kumara said.
The Fisheries (Regulation of Foreign Fishing Boats) Act, No 59 of 1979, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act No 2 of 1996 and Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Amendment) Act, No 11 of 2017 centres on the protection of fish in Sri Lankan waters.
The fisher community with the support of the Jaffna District Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Unions held several strikes urging the government of the day to find a lasting solution to the poaching issue.
