» 06/25/2012 14:49 SRI LANKA Sri Lanka: Fishermen of the north and south against the threat of Indian fishing vessels by Melani Manel Perera Trawling destroys the ecosystem of the Indian ocean in the northern areas. But northern communities suffer from other problems: rudimentary equipment, prohibition of access to some of the bays, damage caused by civil war. The commitment of the Southern communities to help them.
Vavuniya (AsiaNews) - Damage to the marine ecosystem caused
by Indian fishing vessels Indians, bays closed to fishing by the government for
"security reasons", a ban on spear fishing: these are just some of
the problems facing the fishing community in northern Sri Lanka. To try to
resolve them, according to Fr. Sherad Jayawardene, a Catholic priest and head
of the All
Ceylon Small Scale Fisher People's Trade Union, "the
communities of North and South must form a common front" and "work
together". The occasion to discuss this situation was a meeting between a
group of Catholic priests and fishermen of the south and 25 members of the Northern
Province Fisher People's Alliance (ANPFP), held on 23
June in Vavuniya (Northern Province).
In Sri Lanka, the fishing communities of the north are the
most disadvantaged. On the one hand, there are the Indian boats, which often go
up to the limits of the Island's territorial waters and practice trawling,
which is very damaging to the ecosystem and the fish. On the other hand, there
is a technical problem: the fishermen of the south practice spearfishing, but
those of the North are forbidden to use such equipment. This allows the former
to catch a greater quantity of fish than the latter, and also risks exhausting
the resources. Finally, the northern communities are still suffering from the
damage provoked by almost 30 years of civil war, which has particularly
affected the northern and eastern parts of the country.
Aruna Rosantha, president of the All Ceylon Small Scale Fisher
People's Trade Union, stresses the need "to establish a
representative body," defending "the positions of the fishermen of
the North" before the authorities.
Herman Kumara, president of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO), explains: "The issue of Indian
fishing boats and all the difficulties faced by northern communities affect the
peace and stability of the entire country. These people are paying for the
destruction of years of conflict. Most of the work is up to us citizens in the
South. Only we can commit ourselves to giving a decent life to these
communities."
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