Fishermen in over 100 boats sailed from Mullaitivu to Point Pedro, calling on Sri Lankan authorities to implement a law banning trawlers.
Trawling, which is a major threat to marine life, was banned in 2017 through the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act, however the legislation has not been fully implemented.
In recent years, fishermen from the North-East have spoken of Indian trawlers encroaching on their fishing grounds, the larger boats are known to damage the seabed and are capable of carrying a larger catch, often exhausting the fishing reserves thus making it harder for Eelam Tamil fishermen obtain a sizeable catch.
The encroachment of Indian fishing boats comes despite a heavy military presence across the strait.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians including M A Sumanthiran, S. Shritharan and and Shanakiyan Rasamanickam also joined the fishermen in their protest.
“We have joined this protest to demand that our fishermen’s livelihoods are protected, and to demand that the Fisheries Minister initiate appropriate legal action against fishermen using the bottom trawling,” Mr.Sumanthiran reportedly said.
TNA MP's have previously called for the resignation of Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda. Charles Nirmalanathan has said The leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) should resign from his post due to his inaction and that the Sri Lankan government nor the fisheries minister has taken any action on the issue which has impacted Northern fishermen for a decade.
