SLN imposes fishing ban in Pungudutivu

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 September 2006, 00:04 GMT]
The fishermen of Jaffna islet Pungudutivu, hard hit by the two week old Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) imposed fishing ban, appealed in a memorandum to the Government Agent (GA) Jaffna Thursday, to help lift the (SLN) fishing ban, Jaffna Secretariat officials said.

The memorandum signed by more than 500 Pungudutivu fishermen described the economic hardship they are facing due to the loss of their daily income, and implored the GA to take steps to have the ban lifted immediately, sources said.

The fishermen also pointed out that SLN had allowed fishing in the islets of Nainativu, Delft and Analaitivu.

In these islets, however, SLN had allowed fishing for domestic consumtion only, and has barred fisher families from taking the fish out of the islets for commerical purposes.

Meanwhile, the SLN which had prohibited all deep sea fishing in the coastal villages in Vadamaradchchy north, from Thondaimanaru to Munai in Point Pedro, and in Vadamradchchy East from Katkovalam to Manatkadu, from Wednesday. SLN has, however, allowed fishing in waist-deep waters within a 100 meters from the coast using only casting nets from 6.30 a.m to 4.00 p.m, said fisheries sources in Vadamaradchchy.