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The government will discuss the issue of Indian fishermen entering Sri Lanka’s northern territorial waters three days a week for illegal bottom trawling when External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visits Colombo next week, Indian Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda said.
Indian fishermen are expected to return to Sri Lankan waters after the two-month annual farming ban was lifted on Friday.
Indian President Ranil Wickremesinghe raised the matter during a meeting with his Indian counterpart Dr. Jaishnakar during his visit to New Delhi to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last Sunday.
“As a country, we have to protect our resources, interests and livelihoods of fishermen. I hope to raise this issue at the next Cabinet meeting (June 19),” Minister Devananda said.
Days before Indian authorities lift the annual breeding ban, some fishermen’s unions based in the north handed over a petition to Indian consulate officials in Jaffna on Tuesday, demanding immediate steps to stop Indian fishermen from entering Sri Lankan waters at the cost of their livelihood.
Fishermen’s unions formed the Northern Fishermen’s Union to demand President Wickremesinghe
In one petition, Indian authorities were urged to “do their utmost to monitor and prevent the intrusion of thousands of Tamil Nadu trawlers every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday nights”.
The two-month ban, which came into effect on April 14 and was lifted on Friday, aims to promote marine fish reproduction, maintain the balance of marine resources and achieve sustainable development.
Currently, Indian fishermen fishing in Sri Lankan territorial waters are arrested by the Navy and Coast Guard, their trawlers are seized and they face legal sanctions.
After legal proceedings, the local court sentenced the fishermen to 18 months’ suspended sentence for fishing without a license, after which they were released and repatriated with the assistance of the Indian diplomatic mission.
(sundaytimes.lk)
(This article was originally published on sundaytimes.lk and has not been edited by SLM staff)
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