At a meeting with their Indian counterparts on Monday, Sri Lankan fishermen refused to accept the implementation of a 2010 agreement which allows Tamil Nadu fishermen to fish in Lankan waters for 70 days a year. At that time, the Lankan fishermen were led by one Herman Kumara who was not representative of our fishermen, Lankan Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne said.
The minister added that at Monday’s meeting, the Tamil Nadu fishermen agreed to suspend bottom and double trawling for a month beginning February 10. The two sides endorsed the decisions taken at the meeting of the Fisheries Ministers of Sri Lanka and India at New Delhi on January 15, the minister said.
The agreement between the ministers and the decisions taken by officials of the two sides later, had thrown open the possibility of joint fishing in the sea between the two countries across the IMBL, though this was not explicitly stated. Perhaps with bottom and double trawling eschewed, fishing by the two sides across the IMBL may be possible, as it has been for ages.
When asked about the issues discussed at the meeting, T Sathasivam, a representative from Tamil Nadu said, We discussed issues over fishing rights. There are certain prohibitory orders imposed by both TN and Sri Lankan governments. So both governments should together take the final call on our decisions. His Indian counterpart U Arulanandam said the decisions taken at the meeting could be executed only after all three governments agree to them.
Twelve fishermen from the districts of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram and one from Pondicherry took part in the talks with 10 fishermen from Sri Lanka. On behalf of Lanka, senior officials, including Nimal Hettiarachchi, Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Chennai Sabarullah Khan, Advisor to Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Dr S Subasinghe and Asst. Director in the Dept of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources WSL De Silva took part in the talks. Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister K A Jeyapaul, Fisheries Secretary S Vijayakumar, Fisheries Director S Munianathan, Fisheries Additional Director K Rengaraju and other top officials were present as TN observers.
The New Indian Express Group