Northern fishermen to stage protests

by P. Krishnaswamy

The Northern fishermen's representatives reacted angrily to the ongoing Tamil Nadu fishermen's agitations over not being allowed to continue their poaching in the Sri Lankan territorial waters. Their poaching that has been continuing in spite of protests from the affected Northern fishermen, repeated talks with them and strict measures of the two governments over the years, has depleted the fertile marine resources while also destroying the corals and other breeding grounds posing a threat to their livelihood, they said.

The fishermen who are continuing to be deprived of their livelihood are planning to stage mass protests against the 'unjustifiable demands' of the their Tamil Nadu counterparts, unless the two governments took meaningful and effective measures to stop poaching, they said.

President of the Mannar District Fishermen's Federation, Albert Justin Soysa said that the Indian poaching trawlers come to the very shores of their coastal fishing areas threatening the local fishermen and damaging their fishing gear. Only a few of them get apprehended by the Navy.

They should strictly confine themselves to their maritime boundaries or seek alternative arrangements from their government instead of seeking a right to poach in the territorial waters of another country, he said.

The 40,000 fishermen in the membership of the Federation and their families will be left in the lurch if the poaching continued, Soysa said.

President of the Jaffna District Rural Fisheries Federation Nagathamby Ponnambalam, President of the Kodachchikuda Fishermen's Federation S.Kandasamy, President of the Valampuri Fishermen's Organisation Azeez Raheem, President of the Talaimannar Fishermen's Federation Aliyar Sathir and President of the Pallimunai Fishermen's Federation Sarath Vithanage also expressed similar views to the Sunday Observer.