Fishing in full swing in Jaffna, Mannar

by P. Krishnaswamy

Following the lifting of all restrictions on fishing, the industry is now gathering momentum in the northern districts of Jaffna and Mannar and arrangements are now under way to engage insulated trucks to transport the excess fish produce to Colombo and other southern areas, said Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, G. Piyasena.

He expressed optimism that with the commencement of transport services within the next two weeks the price of fish and other sea food should come down considerably in Colombo and other southern areas.

The northern province with its 480 km coastline, 250 fishing villages and over 35,000 active fishermen produced 14,000 tonnes of fish annually of which the Jaffna district produces 5,830 tonnes.

With no restrictions on fishing any longer this amount is expected to increase further, fisheries sources said.

With the lifting of restrictions on fishing and opening of the A 9 Kandy-Jaffna highway a large quantity of fish and other sea food is expected to arrive in Colombo. Several insulated trucks previously used to transport fish and other sea food remained idle in Vavuniya over the years and arrangements have been made for the trucks to be sent to Jaffna to transport the excess fish produce, the Ministry Secretary told the Sunday Observer .

In Mannar, fisher people were already engaged in fishing and their number further increased with the resettlement of over 700 families in Musali, Mannar, from IDP welfare centres in April and June. The resettled fishermen were provided fishing gear and other assistance. Although there was no displacement of fisher families in the Jaffna district, they were not fully active due to the fishing restrictions in force and LTTE threats. However, at present they are free to go fishing 24 hours a day. With the northern fishing grounds of ‘Pedro Bank’ and ‘Wadge Bank’ which are rich in aquatic resources, the fish produce should increase substantially, the Ministry Secretary said.