Fishermen across the country fear new Fisheriesisheries Act will sink their livelihoods
Fisherfolk cooperative communities are up in arms over the proposed new Fisheries Act, alleging that if the legislation is enacted in its current form, it might pave the way for more privatisation of the sector. They reiterated that their concerns and suggestions should be accommodated before it is finalised.
More than 20 cooperative societies from the North, South, and Eastern Provinces met in Jaffna on Friday to discuss the proposed Fisheries Act and the pressing issues the community faces across the country.
Annalingam Annarasa, Secretary of Kayts Fishermen Cooperative Society, said that the new legislation proposes providing fishing permits for foreigners to engage in fishing activities in Sri Lankan territorial waters.
“We are already subjected to Indian poaching on a daily basis, making it incredibly difficult for us to make ends meet in the North now. If this new act comes into effect, it would be the final nail on the livelihood of our community,” Annarasa told the Sunday Times.
Questioning the timing of introducing the new Act, the northern-based fishermen leader alleged that under the proposed legislation, the Director General of Fisheries is vested with enormous powers, including powers to grant licences to foreigners and the private sector when it comes to utilising fisheries resources.
“The ongoing economic crisis, the fuel price hike, and the Indian poaching issue have already made our livelihood very challenging for our survival. We will not allow attempts that would lead to robbing of our traditional fisheries resources for multinational companies in the name of foreign investments,” Annarasa said, stressing that they have decided to take up their concerns on the proposed act with the Ministry directly.
Representatives from fishermen's cooperative societies in Negombo, Matara, Chilaw, Puttalam, Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee participated in the meeting. Recently, a group of Northern fishermen visited the South, seeking solidarity from their southern counterparts on common issues they faced.
A petition detailing issues they faced in the northern province was also handed over to MarcAndré Franche, UN Resident
Minister Douglas Devananda at a Ministerial Consultative Committee meeting on Fisheries last week
Northern fishermen Unions addressing a news conference in Colombo last week
Coordinator in Colombo.
The fisherfolk unions also expressed their disappointment over the inadequate allocation for the fisheries sector in Budget 2024, which was submitted to
Parliament last month. Stressing that 35 percent of the country's fish harvest comes from the northern sea alone, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the Minister of Finance, announced in his budget speech that Rs 500 million will be allocated to improve the sector in order to increase the productivity and livelihood of fishermen's families.
The President also indicated that the Government will cooperate with the private sector in the management of fishing ports and necessary infrastructure, including the development of warehouses, to reduce waste and optimise productivity.
To develop the freshwater fisheries and aquaculture sectors, which contribute to 29 percent of the total fisheries harvest, Rs 200 million has also been allocated to develop some 12,000 permanent and temporary reservoirs in the country.
Addressing a media briefing in Colombo recently, a senior lecturer at the University of Jaffna and an advisor to northern fishermen cooperative unions, Ahilan Kadirgamar, said that the new Fisheries Act draft is of serious concern and poses an existential threat for the fisherfolk communities as they are still trying to come out of multiple crises, including the global pandemic and recent economic hardships.
“This is not the time to bring this Act. It gives prominence to multinational fishing operations and licences for foreign vessels to engage in fishing in Sri Lankan waters. This not only affects the fishing industry alone but the country as a whole,” Dr. Kadirgamar stressed.
Meanwh i l e , Fisheries Department Director General S.J. Kahawatta told the Sunday Times that the Act is being proposed in keeping with global fishing standards by repealing the current Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act No. 2 of 1996 and incorporating the amendments that were introduced later.
“Our main Act—the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act—was introduced 27 years ago, and over 100 regulations were introduced from time to time as required in the changing fisheries sector. The proposed Act is formulated to ensure smooth regulatory and administrative procedures are brought under one legislation,” Mr. Kahawatta said.
He stressed that the department had conducted district-level multi- stakeholder' meetings that included fishermen's unions and federations to brief them on the proposed legislation. “We have not finalised the bill yet; if anyone has any concerns, they can inform us in order to be considered by the department."
Addressing the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Fisheries last week, the Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda said that the longstanding issue of Indian fishermen engaging in illegal fishing in the northern sea should be resolved at the diplomatic level between the two governments while stressing the support from other parliamentarians representing the Northern Province.
Senior Navy officials who were present at the meeting said that the presence of Indian fishermen in the the Northern sea had reduced significantly due to the navy's continuous arrests in recent months.