News
Indian trawlers endangering local fisheries resources
Indian fishermen have once again begun intruding into waters off north western Sri Lanka as was evidenced by the arrest of 35 of them by the navy last week. Anton Kusum Rakesh, the Chairman of the ‘Multi Day Fishing Trawler Owners Association’ said the intrusion of the Indian vessels into Sri Lankan waters was depriving local fishermen of receiving a bountiful catch.
The arrested Indian fishermen and (below) their trawlers
“Their fishing vessels destroy the sea bed, cause massive damage to marine resources in addition to destroying our livelihood,” he said. Rakesh added that Indian fishing vessels come to within 10 -12 km off the Sri Lankan shore and lay fishing lines. “If this trend continues, within the next two to three years our fisheries resources will be completely destroyed,” he said.
The navy confiscated 1,600 kg of fish along with the Indian trawlers. The stock of fish has been handed over to Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Department office in Puttalam. Anura Jayasekera, Additional Secretary Fisheries Puttalam said, among the stock confiscated from the trawlers were fish weighing between 100 grams to 7 kg.
“The danger is that some forms of marine life are getting destroyed due to the activity of the Indian trawlers,” he said. The Indian fishermen, all of whom are from Ramanadanpuram in Tamil Nadu said they were paid on a daily basis. “If the catch is not good we receive only a half a day’s wages. There are hardly any fish in our waters and so there is no alternative to intruding here,” one of the fishermen said.
In March this year, the navy apprehended three Indian boats and took 20 fishermen into custody.
