Islandwide census of fishing craft

by Elmo Leonard

A census of fishing craft covering all parts of Sri Lanka will begin in the first week of August and end within a month, in order to overcome problems between fishermen and the security forces, while security is strained.

Each fishing craft, irrespective of its size or type, ranging from those towed to sea by one fisher, to multiday craft, will carry a luminous identity mark, made authoritatively, on the front and rear of each vessel.

The security forces and naval vessels will by way of computer be able to identify fishing craft. The data will also be available at the 14 coastal district fisheries officers and fisheries harbours around the island.

This work will be undertaken by the Department of Fisheries, its director general, G Piyasena said. In recent months, in breaches of the peace between the LTTE and the security forces, the terrorists have masqueraded as fishers and attacked naval and coastal security positions. The armed forces, in turn are compelled to limit fishing activity in places where such attacks occur. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, on a recent visit to Mannar, ordered the relaxing of fishing restrictions, imposed by the armed forces, there.

The local fishers said that while they were not allowed to go to sea, Indian trawlers made hay in the sunshine, within the island's fishing zones.

During the 20-year conflict beginning 1983, between the LTTE and security forces, there was an almost total ban on fishing in the north and east of the island.

This lead to the closure of the multi-million dollar wild caught shrimp industry, which commanded a premium market overseas, and the rack and ruin of its cold storage infrastructure. Besides, the arterial link supplying 40 percent of the fish to the Colombo market, caught within the lucrative northern waters, was severed. During that time, fishermen moved to other parts of the island's coasts, or engaged in other work.