Sri Lanka, India to revive talks on fishermen issue

Thursday, 5 March 2015 01:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka has accepted a request from India to revive talks between representatives of the Sri Lankan and Indian fishing communities, the Government Information Department said. The High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Y. K. Sinha, on 3 March met the Minister of Home Affairs and Fisheries, Joseph Michael Perera and asked him to start a dialogue.

“The Indian High Commissioner requested that talks be started around the 12th of this month ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Colombo,” the Minister said. The talks between Sri Lanka and India on the fishermen issue scheduled for 5 March have been indefinitely postponed. The Sri Lankan side has asked the High Commissioner to meet with the Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C. V. Wigneswaran and religious leaders in the North, the Minister noted. One of the most focused points in these talks will be the apparent increase in illegal fishing. Sri Lankan fishermen have been complaining that since the arrival of the new Government, the number of Indian fishermen entering the country’s waters for illegal fishing has been increasing. Another important issue that will be addressed is India’s plan to adopt a trawler fishing system which could disrupt the balance of the ecosystem and pose a credible threat to the neighbouring Sri Lankan fishing community.