Writ against trawling and purse seine nets: CA fixes petition for mention on 29 June

By S.S. Selvanayagam

The Court of Appeal on 15 June fixed to be mentioned on 29 June the Writ Petition of fisher-folks complaining of trawling and other harmful nets such as purse seine (dragnet) nets lamenting that these are destroying the livelihood of nearly 2.5.million fisher-folk families.

The matter was taken up before the Bench comprising Justices Vijith K. Malalgoda (President of C/A) and Devika Thennakoon.

The purse seine is named as such because along the bottom are a number of rings. A line (referred to as a purse-line) passes through all the rings, and when pulled, draws the rings close to one another, preventing the fish from swimming down to escape the net.

Petitioners cited State Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Dilip Wedaarachchi, Minister of Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Dev Mahinda Amaraweera, Ministry Secretary W.M.M.R. Adikari, National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) Chairman Dr. Anil Premaratne, Director General of Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, IGP, Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravindra and the Attorney General as Respondents.

Lakshan Dias with Chandima Dunuwila appeared for the Petitioners.

Petitioners state that from the inception the trawling was not welcome by the fisher-folk all over the country as it takes most of the fish available in the territorial waters and damages the entire aquatic resources in the sea bed including see weeds, corals, all sizes of fish plus small as well as fish with eggs.

They lament that the Director General of Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development on the advice of the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development issued a circular dated 22 January 2016 in relation to purse seine fishing gears (nets) and according to the said circular the purse seine nets other than the agreed size will not be allowed.

As per the circular, in Colombo, Hambantota, Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee Administrative Districts, purse seine fishing gears will not be permitted with seven km from the shore and it is prohibited and in the Gampaha, Puttalam Mannar, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Jaffna Administrative Districts the limit will be 10 km from the shore, they state.

They point out that the said circular is ultra vires and contradicts with 1996 Act and state that in the areas like Trincomalee, the fishing industry has collapsed due to the purse seine fishing gear and there are some instances when the Navy has brought these vessels to shore with nets and confiscated them and fined the boat owners.

They bemoan there are no such practices taking place in the southern part of the country and state that when they fish using illegal nets, they destroy more than 50% of the catch as it is prohibited to catch smaller fish and only tuna fish above three kg is allowed.

They are seeking the Court to quash the said decision as per the said circular which permits those fisher-folk to unload their fishing catch in the fisheries harbours and anchor spots even when they catch fish violating the permitted standards.

They are also asking the Court to instruct the competent authorities to check and arrest all those fishing boats that leaving such fishing harbours, anchor spots and other places with illegal fishing nets.