| The Government has called on Indian fishermen to refrain from poaching in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, and the authorities on the other side of the Palk Strait have promised to cooperate towards this end.
Ministry of Fisheries Secretary, Dr. Damitha de Zoysa, told the Sunday Times that Delhi was requested yesterday to advise Indian fishermen to respect the International Maritime Boundary, and stay out of the country’s territorial waters.
“Poaching by Indian fishermen, or by anyone in our waters, will not be tolerated in future, and stringent measures are being worked out to combat this menace,” Dr. Zoysa said.
Investigations reveal that Indian poachers have the backing of a Tamil Nadu fish mafia that is controlling the industry along the South Indian coastal belt, and that Indian fishermen were pawns in a multi-million rupee scam, the Fisheries Secretary added.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) highlighting several issues on poaching in Sri Lankan waters was handed over to the Indian authorities, and the response has been favourable, Dr. Zoysa added.
“If we fail to act against foreign poachers, we’ll be letting down our own fishermen, whose livelihood has been drastically disturbed by poachers. The poaching must stop, or our fishermen may be forced to take the law into their own hands,” Dr. Zoysa warned.
She said the Sri Lankan Navy may be called upon if a situation demanded their presence. “We have sought the Navy’s help to stop the light course [use of bright illumination to attract fish] and dynamite fishing in different parts of the country. We are at all times in touch with the defence authorities,” she said.
Dr. Zoysa warned that certain non-government organisations (NGOs) were attempting to aggravate the situation among local fishermen, largely those based in the North. “We are closely monitoring the activities of these groups,” she added.
The Ministry Secretary said plans were under way to install vessel monitoring systems on local fishing craft. The systems would give advance warning if the boats were straying outside the country’s territorial waters.
“Because our fishermen lacked proper navigation guiding equipment, they would find themselves in distant waters, sometimes close to Diego Garcia and other spots in the Indian Ocean,” she said. “We intend to change all that with this new system. Our fishermen will be pre-warned, so they can change course. If they ignore the warning, that would be their problem.
They’ll have to face the consequences.”
Meanwhile, incursions by Indian poachers have dropped to almost zero this month. The reason is that it is breeding season, and catch is minimal, according to S. Thavaratnam, chairman of the Jaffna District Fishermen’s Co-operative Society Unions’ Federation.
“The breeding season lasts about 45 days, and we expect the poachers to return after that period, despite warnings from our authorities,” Mr. Thavaratnam told the Sunday Times. “Stringent action is the need of the hour if we are to combat this menace from across the Palk Strait and protect the livelihood of our fishermen.”
Mr. Thavaratnam said Lankan fishing associations in the North and the South have been meeting regularly to discuss the problem of Indian fishermen intruding into Lankan waters. He said Indian fishermen have even begun moving towards the North-West coast, which is rich in shrimp and other related species.
20 Lankan fishermen to be handed over tomorrow
A group of 20 Sri Lankan fishermen are set to be released by the Indian authorities some time tomorrow.
Government officials told the Sunday Times said the Indian Coast Guard will hand over the fishermen to the Sri Lanka Navy at a point off the coast of Mannar. Five vessels belonging to the fishermen will be released at the same time.
The 20 fishermen were taken into custody by the Indian authorities several months ago, after straying into India’s territorial waters, the officials said. |
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