The fishermen who violated the Sri Lankan sea limits for their fishing and crossed over to territorial waters coming under other countries that were banned from engaging in fishing activities using their fishing vessels were pardoned with final warning given on humanitarian grounds.
The three months ban imposed on 190 multi-day fishing vessels due to violation of sea limits was lifted by the Fisheries Ministry under humanitarian reasons which was announced by Fisheries State Minister Piyal Nishantha de Silva while speaking to the media at the Fisheries Ministry yesterday (8).
The State Minister mentioned that this is the last chance and warning given to those fishermen who violated the sea limits of Sri Lanka and that the punishment would be severe if they are caught again.
The Fisheries Department received information reports through the V. M. S. devices fixed in the multi-day fishing vessels about these sea limit violations by the fishermen. Accordingly the Fisheries Department imposed a three-month travel ban on these 190 fishing vessels.
Due to receiving continued requests and plea from the owners of these banned fishing vessels and the fishermen working on these boats together with their families to consider lifting the ban on sympathetic grounds, the Fisheries State Minister said after considering their requests that he has arranged to grant this relief for the last time The State Minister stated that as they have been informed about the inability to undergo the three-month ban on fishing activity using these vessels by the fishermen and their fishing families due to the current economic conditions. He said as around six people work on each of these fishing vessels that he is aware that all of them are adversely affected by this ban. Therefore, with the approval granted by Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda, the ban on these 190 fishing vessels has been lifted for the final time and there won’t be any future pardoning again, reiterated the State Minister.
Varuna Dayaratne