{"id":78299,"date":"2022-07-01T22:18:15","date_gmt":"2022-07-02T02:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=78299"},"modified":"2022-07-01T22:18:15","modified_gmt":"2022-07-02T02:18:15","slug":"livelihood-of-northern-sri-lankan-fishermen-being-crushed-again-after-return-of-indian-fishing-trawlers-after-60-day-lull-due-to-fishing-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=78299","title":{"rendered":"Livelihood of Northern Sri Lankan Fishermen Being \u201cCrushed\u201d again after Return of Indian Fishing Trawlers after 60 Day Lull due to Fishing Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBy<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just after Tamil Nadu\u2019s annual fishing ban ended mid-June, Indian fishing trawlers are back near Sri Lanka\u2019s northern coast, \u201ccrushing\u201d fishermen\u2019s livelihoods that are already under enormous strain during the island\u2019s economic crisis, according to northern Sri Lankan fisher leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least four of our fishermen\u2019s nets, worth 6.5 lakh rupees [LKR], were damaged by the Indian trawlers yesterday in Point Pedro. The economic crisis has already impacted us severely, we don\u2019t have enough kerosene for our boats. Now the return of the trawlers is just crushing what is left of our livelihoods,\u201d said Annalingam Annarasa, leader of the federation of fisher cooperative societies in Jaffna, on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Tamil Nadu\u2019s annual fishing ban\u2014 to allow breeding of marine organisms\u2014 that lasts for nearly two months, usually offers some respite to northern Sri Lankan fishermen. Fishermen in Mannar, Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi could go fishing with greater hopes of a decent catch, and no fear of their nets being damaged.<\/p>\n

However, this year, fishermen in the island\u2019s northern, coastal districts hardly went to the sea during this time due to an acute shortage of kerosene, used by 90% of the fisherfolk for their modest boats. \u201cWe get some kerosene once in 12 or 14 days, and it\u2019s just 20 litres per boat. Only about 20 % of our fishermen have been able to go out to the sea with that,\u201d Mr. Annarasa told The Hindu.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s crippling economic crisis has compounded the northern fishing community\u2019s old challenges of falling production and incomes, for which they mainly blame Indian trawlers that originate from Tamil Nadu and fish illegally in Sri Lankan waters. Their concern has persisted for well over a decade, but the problem remains unresolved.<\/p>\n

In a recent news report from Mullaitivu, local television channel Newsfirst showed visuals of Indian trawlers, captured from the north-eastern coast of Sri Lanka, indicating that the fishing vessels had travelled well into Sri Lanka\u2019s territorial waters, around the Jaffna Peninsula. Although the Sri Lankan Navy periodically arrests Indian fishermen on charges of \u201cpoaching\u201d, it has not made any recent arrests owing to diesel shortages that have limited its patrol units, fishermen noted. <\/p>\n

Destructive method<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the northern fishermen, it is the destructive fishing method of bottom trawling that is more of a concern than marine boundaries. \u201cWe have written to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu already. This fishing method will destroy our marine resources and that will be a blow not only to our, war-affected fishermen, but also to Tamil Nadu fishermen in the long run,\u201d Mr. Annarasa pointed out.<\/p>\n

Further, on Mr. Stalin\u2019s recent demand to the Centre to retrieve Katchatheevu, a Sri Lankan island, he said it amounted to destroying \u201cthe lives and livelihoods of 50,000 families and 2 lakh people\u201d in northern Sri Lanka. Indian fishermen usually came well past Katchatheevu to reach the Sri Lankan coastline, he observed, suggesting that its \u201cretrieval\u201d was hardly a solution to the long-festering problem.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, emphasising the need to hold bilateral talks to resolve the fisheries problem, Mr. Annarasa said, \u201cWe have sought a meeting with Mr. Stalin. We must resume talks and find a permanent solution to this long-standing problem.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cProfusely thanking\u201d the CM and the people of Tamil Nadu for the \u201ctimely assistance\u201d extended to the people of Sri Lanka, he further added, \u201cFinding a solution to the fisheries problem will only strengthen our relationship.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meera Srinivasan Just after Tamil Nadu\u2019s annual fishing ban ended mid-June, Indian fishing trawlers are back near Sri Lanka\u2019s northern coast, \u201ccrushing\u201d fishermen\u2019s livelihoods that are already under enormous strain during the island\u2019s economic crisis, according to northern Sri Lankan fisher leaders. \u201cAt least four of our fishermen\u2019s nets, worth 6.5 lakh rupees [LKR], …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Livelihood of Northern Sri Lankan Fishermen Being \u201cCrushed\u201d again after Return of Indian Fishing Trawlers after 60 Day Lull due to Fishing Ban’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78299"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78299"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78300,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78299\/revisions\/78300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}