මාර වැඩේ ලංකාවට උනේ 
Sri Lankan fisher unions said fishermen from Tuticorin and Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu were emboldened enough to bring their boats just five kilometres off Bathalangunduwa Island on the northwest coast. They have also been sighted in Sri Lanka’s northern waters engaging in the banned fishing method of bottom trawling.
Sri Lankan fishermen, whose livelihoods have been affected, confronted Indian poachers in mid-sea off the coast of Puttalam this week, fisher unions said, urging authorities to redouble efforts to curb unlawful fishing in Sri Lankan waters.
Sri Lankan fisher unions said fishermen from Tuticorin and Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu were emboldened enough to bring their boats just five kilometres off Bathalangunduwa Island on the northwest coast. They have also been sighted in Sri Lanka’s northern waters engaging in the banned fishing method of bottom trawling.
While Sri Lankan fishermen avoided fishing around Bathalangunduwa Island during the current breeding season, fisher unions said large Indian bottom trawlers continued their destructive activities, causing immense damage to Sri Lanka’s maritime resources and marine environment.
Anton Fonseka, secretary of the Bathalangunduwa Vickshopa Matha Fishermen’s Association, said: ‘These Indian fishermen who destroy our marine resources are now a major problem. Their vessels are much larger than our tugboats. Ten to fifteen boats can be seen every night, sometimes as many as fifty or even a hundred. They have already destroyed the Mannar Sea, and now they are targeting the Battalangunduwa Sea.’
He said illegal Indian trawlers cut through nets laid by Sri Lankan fishermen, damaging them and causing financial losses. That is why aggrieved Sri Lankan fishermen decided to confront them, Mr Fonseka said.
“Our fibreglass boats are no match for their iron vessels. If we collided with their boats, ours would be damaged. But we came close to warning them,” the fisher leader said, adding that authorities have still not provided a permanent solution to this decades-old problem.
Mr Fonseka said bottom trawling is an internationally banned fishing method which, if not checked, could lead to a situation where no fish could reproduce.
He said what is needed is stricter policing of Sri Lanka’s sea border and firm enforcement of the law when Indian fishermen are arrested. “It is not enough for the navy to catch one Indian boat once in a while; they need to keep arresting them constantly,’ he added.
Denzil Fernando, chairman of the Vickshopa Matha Fishermen’s Association of Bathalangunduwa Island, echoed similar views. He lamented that several Sri Lankan fishermen have lost their livelihoods because of unchecked poaching by Indian fishermen.
“We are now without work because they have destroyed the marine resources around Batthalangunduwa. The Indians have destroyed the sea north of Uchchamunu, and next they will move to Kandakuliya and Talawila. This is a livelihood issue for us,” he said.
Puttalam District National People’s Power Parliamentarian Ajith Gihan said the government was engaging with Indian authorities through diplomatic channels to find a solution. ‘This is not a recent issue. At the core of the problem are Indian fishing magnates who operate hundreds of boats,’ he said.
The Navy has increased its patrols and taken steps to prevent clashes between Sri Lankan and Indian fishermen, the ruling party MP added, noting that the government would stand with Sri Lankan fishermen.
He also acknowledged that Indian poaching has wiped out Sri Lanka’s sea resources and that destruction during the monsoon season is a ‘very serious problem’.
“Noel Fernando, a fisherman from Kandakuliya, said he had been fishing for nearly fifty years, from traditional methods to motorboats. ‘With the use of motorboats, we reaped a good harvest and preserved our fishing grounds, allowing time for breeding. We were a happy lot until the Indians began poaching in our waters about ten years ago, after the end of the war. Today, our catch is only a fraction of what it was a decade ago. It is not enough to cover even our fuel costs,’ he said.
Mr Fernando commended the Sri Lankan fishermen who confronted the Indian fishermen. He suggested that discarded railway compartments, multi-day vessels, and other objects should be placed in the sea to disrupt Indian bottom-trawling activities in Sri Lanka’s waters.
Fisheries Department Director General Susantha Kahawatte said Sri Lanka has banned bottom trawling and prohibits foreign vessels from fishing in its territorial waters. He added that the government has discussed the problem with Indian authorities, but the dispute persists because agreements reached are not honoured.
- https://www.sundaytimes.lk/260809/n...dian-poachers-ravage-puttalam-sea-651878.html
නිවට අනුර වගේද කොන්ද පන තියන රනිල්
Navy Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah තමයි හොඳටම කලේ
Tuesday, October 17, 2017 - 01:00
Navy Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah. Picture by Kelum Liyanage
As the 3rd round of ministerial-level bilateral talks between India and Sri Lanka concluded over the weekend, Navy Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah is confident that the Navy has put a stop to Indian fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters.
“In the last few months, arrests have dropped,” said the Commander, speaking to the Daily News, yesterday.
His proof is the vastly decreased number of boats being apprehended by the Navy. Between July to August, the Navy apprehended 24 boats but from August to date, they have only caught eight.
“The numbers are proof that we don’t have Indian fishermen coming into our waters,” said the Navy Commander.
He explained that in the last two months, since being appointed as the Commander of the Navy, he had changed the deployment pattern in the North, increasing their presence operations in the North by tenfold.
“We have taken assets used in other areas and concentrated them on the border. The type of vessels used has also changed from Fast Attack Crafts (FACs) to Fast Gun Boats (FGBs), which are bigger and tougher platforms, actually designed for this type of tasks,” said Vice Admiral Sinniah.
“Our operations are transparent and visible right now, unlike being clandestine earlier. The latter method was wrong. You can be clandestine when fighting a war but it is not necessary afterwards. We are on the Sri Lankan International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). So when guarding the IMBL, you need to be seen. This is what has made the big difference in the Indian fishermen not coming into our waters,” he added.
The Navy has also changed their concept from ‘Arrest and Harass’ to ‘Warn and Deter’.
“We are helping Indian fishermen maintain their position in Indian waters, so that they don’t have to stray into Sri Lankan waters. When they do stray, we take them out and send them back to India, because these fishermen need help and because India is not capable of giving it to them, we are giving it to them,” said the Navy Commander.
Bilateral talks between India and Sri Lanka have continued for many years with no visible outcome being reached due to the belief that the poachers cannot be stopped. However, Vice Admiral Sinniah dismissed such claims to assert that it could be stopped with the right level of commitment.
“When people told us that we cannot fight the LTTE, and that it will go on forever, everyone believed it,” he noted.
Since the change in naval tactics, Tamil Nadu fishermen have ventured into the shores of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, inciting protests from area fishermen. Vice Admiral Sinniah believed that this change was due to them being prevented from entering Lankan waters.
“They have nowhere to go now. So they are trespassing into Andhra and Kerala. It is direct proof that our operation has been 100 percent successful,” said the Navy Commander.
- https://archives1.dailynews.lk/2017/10/17/local/131482/‘indian-fishermen’s-poaching-reduced-due-navy-operations’?page=32
Sri Lankan fisher unions said fishermen from Tuticorin and Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu were emboldened enough to bring their boats just five kilometres off Bathalangunduwa Island on the northwest coast. They have also been sighted in Sri Lanka’s northern waters engaging in the banned fishing method of bottom trawling.
Sri Lankan fishermen, whose livelihoods have been affected, confronted Indian poachers in mid-sea off the coast of Puttalam this week, fisher unions said, urging authorities to redouble efforts to curb unlawful fishing in Sri Lankan waters.
Sri Lankan fisher unions said fishermen from Tuticorin and Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu were emboldened enough to bring their boats just five kilometres off Bathalangunduwa Island on the northwest coast. They have also been sighted in Sri Lanka’s northern waters engaging in the banned fishing method of bottom trawling.
While Sri Lankan fishermen avoided fishing around Bathalangunduwa Island during the current breeding season, fisher unions said large Indian bottom trawlers continued their destructive activities, causing immense damage to Sri Lanka’s maritime resources and marine environment.
Anton Fonseka, secretary of the Bathalangunduwa Vickshopa Matha Fishermen’s Association, said: ‘These Indian fishermen who destroy our marine resources are now a major problem. Their vessels are much larger than our tugboats. Ten to fifteen boats can be seen every night, sometimes as many as fifty or even a hundred. They have already destroyed the Mannar Sea, and now they are targeting the Battalangunduwa Sea.’
He said illegal Indian trawlers cut through nets laid by Sri Lankan fishermen, damaging them and causing financial losses. That is why aggrieved Sri Lankan fishermen decided to confront them, Mr Fonseka said.
“Our fibreglass boats are no match for their iron vessels. If we collided with their boats, ours would be damaged. But we came close to warning them,” the fisher leader said, adding that authorities have still not provided a permanent solution to this decades-old problem.
Mr Fonseka said bottom trawling is an internationally banned fishing method which, if not checked, could lead to a situation where no fish could reproduce.
He said what is needed is stricter policing of Sri Lanka’s sea border and firm enforcement of the law when Indian fishermen are arrested. “It is not enough for the navy to catch one Indian boat once in a while; they need to keep arresting them constantly,’ he added.
Denzil Fernando, chairman of the Vickshopa Matha Fishermen’s Association of Bathalangunduwa Island, echoed similar views. He lamented that several Sri Lankan fishermen have lost their livelihoods because of unchecked poaching by Indian fishermen.
“We are now without work because they have destroyed the marine resources around Batthalangunduwa. The Indians have destroyed the sea north of Uchchamunu, and next they will move to Kandakuliya and Talawila. This is a livelihood issue for us,” he said.
Puttalam District National People’s Power Parliamentarian Ajith Gihan said the government was engaging with Indian authorities through diplomatic channels to find a solution. ‘This is not a recent issue. At the core of the problem are Indian fishing magnates who operate hundreds of boats,’ he said.
The Navy has increased its patrols and taken steps to prevent clashes between Sri Lankan and Indian fishermen, the ruling party MP added, noting that the government would stand with Sri Lankan fishermen.
He also acknowledged that Indian poaching has wiped out Sri Lanka’s sea resources and that destruction during the monsoon season is a ‘very serious problem’.
“Noel Fernando, a fisherman from Kandakuliya, said he had been fishing for nearly fifty years, from traditional methods to motorboats. ‘With the use of motorboats, we reaped a good harvest and preserved our fishing grounds, allowing time for breeding. We were a happy lot until the Indians began poaching in our waters about ten years ago, after the end of the war. Today, our catch is only a fraction of what it was a decade ago. It is not enough to cover even our fuel costs,’ he said.
Mr Fernando commended the Sri Lankan fishermen who confronted the Indian fishermen. He suggested that discarded railway compartments, multi-day vessels, and other objects should be placed in the sea to disrupt Indian bottom-trawling activities in Sri Lanka’s waters.
Fisheries Department Director General Susantha Kahawatte said Sri Lanka has banned bottom trawling and prohibits foreign vessels from fishing in its territorial waters. He added that the government has discussed the problem with Indian authorities, but the dispute persists because agreements reached are not honoured.
- https://www.sundaytimes.lk/260809/n...dian-poachers-ravage-puttalam-sea-651878.html
නිවට අනුර වගේද කොන්ද පන තියන රනිල්
Navy Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah තමයි හොඳටම කලේ
‘Indian fishermen’s poaching reduced due to Navy operations’
Tuesday, October 17, 2017 - 01:00
Navy Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah. Picture by Kelum Liyanage
As the 3rd round of ministerial-level bilateral talks between India and Sri Lanka concluded over the weekend, Navy Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah is confident that the Navy has put a stop to Indian fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters.
“In the last few months, arrests have dropped,” said the Commander, speaking to the Daily News, yesterday.
His proof is the vastly decreased number of boats being apprehended by the Navy. Between July to August, the Navy apprehended 24 boats but from August to date, they have only caught eight.
“The numbers are proof that we don’t have Indian fishermen coming into our waters,” said the Navy Commander.
He explained that in the last two months, since being appointed as the Commander of the Navy, he had changed the deployment pattern in the North, increasing their presence operations in the North by tenfold.
“We have taken assets used in other areas and concentrated them on the border. The type of vessels used has also changed from Fast Attack Crafts (FACs) to Fast Gun Boats (FGBs), which are bigger and tougher platforms, actually designed for this type of tasks,” said Vice Admiral Sinniah.
“Our operations are transparent and visible right now, unlike being clandestine earlier. The latter method was wrong. You can be clandestine when fighting a war but it is not necessary afterwards. We are on the Sri Lankan International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). So when guarding the IMBL, you need to be seen. This is what has made the big difference in the Indian fishermen not coming into our waters,” he added.
The Navy has also changed their concept from ‘Arrest and Harass’ to ‘Warn and Deter’.
“We are helping Indian fishermen maintain their position in Indian waters, so that they don’t have to stray into Sri Lankan waters. When they do stray, we take them out and send them back to India, because these fishermen need help and because India is not capable of giving it to them, we are giving it to them,” said the Navy Commander.
Bilateral talks between India and Sri Lanka have continued for many years with no visible outcome being reached due to the belief that the poachers cannot be stopped. However, Vice Admiral Sinniah dismissed such claims to assert that it could be stopped with the right level of commitment.
“When people told us that we cannot fight the LTTE, and that it will go on forever, everyone believed it,” he noted.
Since the change in naval tactics, Tamil Nadu fishermen have ventured into the shores of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, inciting protests from area fishermen. Vice Admiral Sinniah believed that this change was due to them being prevented from entering Lankan waters.
“They have nowhere to go now. So they are trespassing into Andhra and Kerala. It is direct proof that our operation has been 100 percent successful,” said the Navy Commander.
- https://archives1.dailynews.lk/2017/10/17/local/131482/‘indian-fishermen’s-poaching-reduced-due-navy-operations’?page=32
