Colombo (AsiaNews) – Over 10 thousand Sri Lankan fishermen, a large slice of the national economy, are suffering because of Government policies. The warning comes from Premasiri Manage, a member of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a party that contributed to the rise to power of current president Mahinda Rajapakse. The politician, who is also a member of the All Island General Fisheries Federation, explained the problem during a press conference held in Colombo on February 22nd.
“The government – charged Manage – is not paying sufficient attention to this sector of workers”. The Federation is threatening a national protest, if Colombo continues to favour large foreign fishing fleet’s exploitation of Sri Lankan waters and does not block importation of fish products, which has led to the plummeting price of fish and made it impossible for local fishermen to compete. “One fishing trip of medium length – the politician underlined – costs our fisherman up to 1300 Euros”.
Sri Lanka’s fishing industry is both sea and fresh water based. Over 200 thousand families’ livelihood depend on the sector. Of these 150 thousand are small local fishermen, a further 30 thousand employees of the larger fishing companies, who work on board fishing vessels at see, while another 20 thousand depend on fresh water fishing. It is estimated that over 700 thousand people survive on fishing. Consumption per head, per anum amounts to 14 kg.
