Stop enacting New Fisheries Act!
Stop permitting fishing for foreign fishing vessels in Sri Lankan waters!
Stop legalising unbearable fines to our fishers!
Stop uprooting traditional, smal scale fishers from their livelihoods!
Stop importing foreign ships to operate in our waters!
The leaflet distribution and awareness raising campaign launched at Pitipana, Duva and Kuttiduwa area today with the facilitation of Negombo People's Council objecting the proposed Fisheries bill 2023 with highlighting above slogans and demanding abolish the proposed bill.
The people who attended in the awareness raising campaign today demanded the support from the general public, traders, consumers, fish processing groups and all others in the fish market.
Brito Fernando of the Families of the Disappeared, Prof. Sumanasiri Liyanage, Samson Gnanasiri, Laxman Rosa, Sangeeth Perera, Jude Namal, Grace Matilda of Sri Vimukthi Fisher Women‘s Organization and several activists attended and educated the people in the fish market.
"We demand from all the #Parliamentarians not to raise your hands to pass the fisheries Bill 2023 in the Parliament which devastate fishing industry, displace fishing communities, dispossess the fishers resources in our water bodies." Says Sangeeth Perera, a member of Negombo People's Council.
Jude Namal, fisheries and political activist in Negombo says, "If this bill pass in the Parliament, that is the funeral day of Fisher people in this country. We need to launch a vigorous campaign islandwide to defeat the bill and save our fishers and fishing industry in the country."
"We say our parliamentarians not come to beg votes at the next election after raising hands to adopting the new fisheries bill 2023." Says Herman Kumara, Convener, NAFSO Sri Lanka, the General Secretary of World Forum of Fisher Peoples - WFFP.
The activists determined to continue vigorous campaign until Sri Lankan fishers defeat the bill.
