The destructive fishing practices are one of the biggest threat to the lives and livelihoods to the small scale fishers as well as the sustenance of the fish resources in the country .NAFSO has been fighting against this and pressurize the government officials and politicians to enforce the existing law on the same. The Gazette notification of 1985 by the Minister of Fisheries is the key instrument to control over the destruction and NAFSO's demand was to enforce the law all around the country.
However, the authorities are deaf and blind to the situation and no law enforcement was occurred though the politicians, government authorities gave serious promises several times since 1987. Recently, NAFSO launched a series of dialogues with the MOF of present regime and we received the same treatment and there was no change with the law enforcement.
In October, 2006, April and October 2007, NAFSO representatives received the same promise from the present MOF and there was no change happened as a result of these dialogues. All were broken promises and fisher people are utterly frustrated. We don’t give up our struggle until an existing law enforces against people who use destructive fishing practices in the sea.
But now unfortunately our southern fisher leaders are threaten by unidentified thugs whose illegal fishing operations are going along the southern sea belt.
Especially the reason to face our Galle District Coordinator such a situation is, as all our authorities are deaf and blind to take necessary action and also to take fishers who are using these destructive fishing practices to the court. Therefore all fishermen have decided to go to the court and file a case to take a judgment against this.
Before we are producing the case to the court the heads those who are behind these destructive fishing practices trying to prevent this fishermen’s process sending their warnings to our members.
The district coordinator of Southern Fisheries Organization (SFO) Galle was warned by two unidentified thugs yesterday in the afternoon at his Galle house. They have forced him to give up this court case and if not so they would kill him if he will involve this case.
This is a horrible situation in Sri Lanka. Unless the responsible authorities take an action fast to resolve these burning issues in the country, we will be able to see a tribal society in very recently.
Therefore we urge government and all the authorities to stop this and no body can make us silence in front of these injustices.
