Lankans increasingly deprived of their catch by invading Indian fishing hordes

By Dinasena Ratugamage

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who will soon pay an official visit to India, must discuss the continuous incursions by Indian fishermen, in hundreds of craft, into Sri Lankan territorial waters, daily, to steal the catch of their poor local counterparts, leaders of the Northern fishermen’s associations on Thursday pleaded with the Minister of Fisheries.

The representatives told Minister Douglas Devananda that a large number of Indian fishermen come into Sri Lankan territorial waters each day and increasingly deprive locals of their catch.

The Indian fishermen take large quantities of fish and often use fishing practices that are banned not only in Sri Lanka, but the world over and they included bottom trawling, the leaders of the Northern fishermen’s associations said. Fishermen from North and Puttalam were devastated by the actions of their Indian counterparts, they said.Minister Devananda promised the fishermen that he would inform the President of their demand.