‘Bottom-trawling Indian poachers protest against sinking of old buses’

By Dinasena Ratugamage

Minister of Fisheries, Douglas Devananda yesterday told journalists in Jaffna that Sri Lanka would continue to develop its fishing industry regardless of Indian opposition. He said that Sri Lanka had been submerging old SLTB buses in the deep seas for many years as a part of the deep-sea fish development project.

“This is a strategy used by many countries. From European Nations to the Philippines use this method to increase fish yields. From what I know over 40 countries do this. This is a cheap and effective method and, in the future, we are planning to submerge old railway carriages in the seas as well,” the minister said.

Minister Devananda said that India too submerged buses and railway carriages and that it was absurd for Indian fishers to oppose Sri Lankan endeavours.

“They say their boats might collide with the buses. But the buses are submerged in our territorial waters. So, unless they come here this should not impact them. Also, the buses are submerged in the deep sea, so unless they use illegal fishing methods like bottom trawling their equipment will not interact with buses. Each year we lose millions of dollars’ worth of fish resources because of Indian poaching,” Minister Devananda said.

Members of 17 fisheries associations in Tamil Nadu and Rameswaram held a demonstration on Wednesday (16) opposite the main bus depot at Rameswaram against various development activities carried out by Sri Lankan authorities and the alleged harassment of their fishermen.

They alleged that the Sri Lankan Navy frequently stopped them in international waters and damaged their fishing equipment. That amounted to significant losses, they said.

The fisheries associations also alleged that instead of addressing those issues, Sri Lankan authorities were now submerging old buses in the seas off Jaffna to create new fish breeding grounds. It would affect their yield as more fish would be attracted to the breeding grounds created by submerged buses. N. Devadas, the head of the Indian fishermen’s association in Rameswaram added that there was a possibility that those buses might collide with Indian fishing boats and the equipment they used.