• Claim Fisheries Minister’s personal agenda over sea cucumber project 

Responding to a recent report regarding a proposal to issue fishing permits for small Tamil Nadu vessels, Northern fishermen’s associations condemned the move and alleged that it is a manipulative strategy of Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda to expand his sea cucumber project and provide the revenue to China. 

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (20), All Ceylon Federation of Trade Unions General Secretary and former Northern Province Fishermen’s Network President N.V. Subramaniam claimed: “Indian State Fisheries’ Minister Dr. L. Murugan visited Sri Lanka. Without communicating with us, Government representatives have spoken to him and given the green light to his claims. Owners of the Indian trawlers have been creating an issue back in their country. They think that we will not raise any concerns if small vessels are allowed to fish. Comparatively, the Tamil Nadu fishermen fish 10 times more than us. Devananda has always told us that he would allow them to fish in our seas and impose a tax from which he would provide us with development facilities. 

“The Minister is functioning as a partner of the sea cucumber project and encouraging those involved in such projects. If we all leave fishing and adopt sea cucumber farms, the Minister’s revenue would increase. Therefore, this is a manipulation of the Minister to stop us from carrying out our livelihoods, thereby looking at good revenue from sea cucumber farms. The Minister thinks that the others are unaware of his plans. Nobody would provide permission for outsiders to fish in our waters. Nobody would allow passing boundaries. His development related benefits are not even enough for our meals. We are more advanced in fishing facilities than the Indian fishermen. We do not have to survive on their tax payments. We can continue to survive from our livelihood. We requested the Government to release our seas from the invasion of Indian fishermen, but they are taking decisions to sell our seas. This is slavery.” 

Recently, it was reported that a proposal to issue permits for small Tamil Nadu boats with a limited engine capacity for fishing activities in the Palk Strait has been put forward to resolve the longstanding Indo-Lanka fishing dispute.