Southern fishermen, with the help of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), have begun to encroach the seas of Jaffna peninsula using large number of trawlers to fish day and night, Fisheries Societies sources in Jaffna peninsula raised accusation. The Southern fishermen who are being afforded complete security arrangements by the SLN also visit the SLN camps along the coasts during day time in SLN boats, they further said.
The trawlers from the South continue to stay and fish in the Northern seas including Vadamaraadchi North, East and areas from Point Pedro Munai to Valveddiththu’rai, the sources said.
Nearly 17,000 fisher families in Jaffna peninsula, being adversely affected by tsunami and war related atrocities, had lost their fishing implements including boats, nets and outboard motors.
Besides, during SLA imposed fishing ban in the peninsula SLA and SLN had confiscated the boats and outboard motors belonging to many fisher families.
Consequently, though the government has completely lifted the fishing ban in the north, the affected fishermen and their families continue to suffer without any means to engage in deep sea fishing, fisheries society representatives pointed out.
There appears to be a deal made between the armed forces occupying the peninsula and southern fishermen who continue to fish unrestricted in the northern seas, they added.
Fishermen in the north, on earlier instances, had fought hard to keep away the Indian trawlers fishing in the seas of Jaffna peninsula.
The northern fishermen complain that the government has instituted a scheme to rob of their fish resources by southern fishermen and to have established a permanent fishing base in the north for them.
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