SLA restriction on fishing on Vadamaraadchchi seas to continue

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 May 2009, 20:54 GMT]
The restriction on fishing on Vadamaraadchchi seas will not be relaxed as requested by the fisheries societies, Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officials said in a meeting held with the representatives of Vadmaraadchchi fisheries societies Sunday. The request to expedite the issue of travel ‘pass’ to Colombo by the representatives of the Saiva Organizations who took part in the meeting along with the school principals of the area was turned down by the SLA officials, sources in Vadamaraadchchi said.

Only day time fishing on Vadamaraadchchi seas using catamarans without outboard motors between 7:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m is allowed by the SLA presently.

The fisheries society representatives had requested the time allowed to be increased by two hours, beginning from 4:00 a.m.

SLA officials said that their request cannot be accommodated due to security reasons.

The representatives of the Saiva Organizations representatives’ request to expedite the issue of travel ‘pass’ was turned down by the SLA officials who said that the matter has to be decided by the SLA Colombo head office authorities.

An applicant has to wait for more than three months to get the travel pass to Colombo besides the difficulties encountered in the process, the representatives said.