Strike of Mannar District fishermen
Prevent encroachment by Indian trawlers
Act immediately to gain the release of the Sri Lankan fishermen captured and imprisoned by the Indian Government
Act to reduce the encroachment of southern fishermen into Mannar fishing areas
Enforce the ban on cylinder fishing in the Mannarfishing areas
Listen and respond to our appeals for disaster relief
Continue the fuel subsistence stamp cards
Our sea resources are being destroyed by thesetrawlers’ fishing methods
Fishermen who returned after the war aren’t able to fish freely
The significant corals and sea reefs are also being destroyed
No resources are going to be left behind for the future generations
Small scale fishermen have totally lost their fishing occupation
Expensive fishing nets and fishing equipment are also destroyed by these trawlers and no one has received any compensation for this destruction and loss
Sea plants, which are the main food resource for the fish, and also provide protection for the fish, are also being demolished by these trawlers
Many millions of rupee worth of sea resources are taken away from our sea areas by these trawlers
Because of the presence of these Indian trawlers,local fishing can effectively only be done for “three days a week”
Our government has to take immediate action togain the release of our Sri Lankan fishermen fromMannar who were captured by the Indian government and accused of trespassing over the national border.
Because they come in large numbers the southern fishermen set up camp on Mannar Island and process and sell fish, taking away the livelihood of the local fishermen and creating conflict with local fishermen
The southern fishermen never obey the rules of the local fishermen societies
They never ask for permission to carry out fishing activities in the fishing port
They form a separate society and they do whatever they want to
When they go, they never clean up after themselves, they just leave their temporary huts and rubbish behind
The local fishermen have to sit out the off season waiting for the fishing season to start; when the fishing season starts again, all the southern fishermen arrive and the locals have trouble catching enough fish to survive.
The local fishermen, trying to recover from the effects of the three decades of war, rely on the income from fishing as their only source of income. This encroachment of southern fishermen is killing their livelihood and their chance of full recover.
In the six months of off season the local fishermenhave to pawn their possessions and take out loans, and rely on the fishing season to regain their possessions and pay off loans. Unfortunately, the arrival of the southern fishermen makes this very difficult.
Every year the number of southern fishermen is gradually increasing, causing ever more hardship for the local fishing community, sometimes even starvation.
Through the pass system, the cylinder fishermen, designed for deep sea diving, are able to carry out their diving activities and collect the sea cucumber, sea shells, etc in Mannar waters.
Most of the fishermen in Mannar are skin divers. This means that local skin divers who dive without equipment are seriously outnumbered and have lost their livelihood.
The letter of Assistant Commissioner of Fisheries dated 19 March 2013 stopped the use of cylinder fishing in Mannar shallow waters for a while, but now they are coming back.
For many years our fishermen have been facing serious natural disasters and many have lost their fishing gear including boats, some their lives. In some seasons they have faced continuous weather warnings. They have been asked to make claims and have gone through the process of making claims, but have never received any of the promised compensation.
Since 16 February 2012 Mannar fishermen have been getting the fuel subsidy. They have been told by authorities that the fuel subsidy stop in December 2013. Instead of the fuel subsidy they have been told that they will receive a one-off gift of a set of fishing nets as compensation. This change is not going to be adequate to assist their current economic difficulties.
The Mannar fishermen ask that the fuel subsidy be continued or else that fuel prices be reduced.
Hon. Chief Minister C.V.Vikneswaran, Northern Province
Hon. Minister P. Deniswaran – Fisheries, Transport and rural development of Northern Province
Asst. director for fisheries – Fisheries department,Mannar
Asst. commissioner for cooperative development – Cooperative department, Mannar
Organizer, National Fisheries Cooperative council
All media reporters – Mannar District
