Sea Monitors meet with Jaffna fisheries representatives

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 July 2003, 14:06 GMT]
The Sea Monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Jaffna Monday evening held discussions with representatives of the Fisheries co-operative societies in Gurunagar, Pashaiyoor and Colombagam in Jaffna division regarding a complaint made by the Sri Lanka Army and Navy that fishermen ‘encroach’ on the high security zones such as Kerativu and Kilali in the Jaffna lagoon, which, they say, causes a threat to their security, SLMM sources said.

The fisheries representatives told the SLMM’s Sea Monitors that earlier the Sri Lankan security forces allowed them to fish in the Jaffna lagoon without any restriction. Now security forces have introduced restrictions on fishing in the lagoon. They requested the SLMM Sea Monitors to take steps to ensure that Sri Lankan security forces do not harass them while fishing in Jaffna lagoon, fisheries sources said.

At the discussion held Monday evening at the office of the Northern Fisheries Co-operatives federation, the representatives of fisheries co-operatives also requested the SLMM sea monitors to take action against Indian fishermen poaching in the Sri Lankan territorial waters and to stop harassment by the Sri Lankan security forces when Jaffna fishermen venture in fishing in the northern sea, fisheries sources said.

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