Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Mahinda Amaraweera had instructed relevant authorities to take immediate measures to solve all issues faced by seine net fishermen before December 1 and to implement a programme to issue licences for them.
During a discussion held on Wednesday at the Ministry premises with regard to the issues faced by these fishermen, Minister Amaraweera instructed Fisheries Director General Christy Lal Fernando to appoint a Regulatory Committee comprising representatives from the Fisheries Ministry, Fisheries Department, Coast Conservation Department and the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) to find out the issues faced by seine net fishermen. He instructed them to investigate illegal seine net fishing practices and submit a report within a week.
The minister claimed that all future decisions on the seine net fishing industry will be taken after considering this report.
During the discussion, the minister said, around 18,000 fishermen are currently engaged in seine net fishing in Sri Lanka under 400 seine net owners. However, due to a labour shortage, most seine net owners use tractors to drag seine nets.
Following a research conducted by NARA which revealed that the beach and seabed are badly affected due to illegal seine net fishing, such as the use of four wheel tractors to pull seine nets, relevant authorities proposed to ban seine net fishing in Sri Lanka.
However, the proposal was not implemented since it would affect the livelihoods of people who depend on seine net fishing.
Considering this, the minister instructed the Fisheries Director General to issue licences only for fishermen who do not engage in illegal seine net fishing practices.
Minister Amaraweera stressed that legal action will be taken against those who practice illegal seine net fishing and that their licence would be cancelled. He added that all decisions will affect fishermen engaged in seine net fishing in Puttalam, Mullaitivu, Jaffna, Trincomalee and Batticaloa.
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