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Bottom trawling must end – Wigneswaran

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Ending the destructive bottom-trawling method of fishing would safeguard the livelihoods of ordinary fishermen in Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka, former Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council C.V. Wigneswaran has said, urging Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to act on the long-persisting problem.

In a letter to Mr. Stalin, shared by Mr. Wigneswaran’s office with the media on Thursday [February 27, 2025], the former CM, former Jaffna parliamentarian, and retired Supreme Court judge said bottom trawling — which virtually scoops out fish, shrimps, eggs, other marine organisms from the seabed — had already severely impacted the marine resources along the Tamil Nadu coast. Recalling his engagement on the matter while in office, Mr. Wigneswaran said it was clear that if the fishing practice continued, the resources along Sri Lanka’s coastlines would be “completely wiped out”.

Since January 2025, the Sri Lankan Navy has arrested over 100 Indian fishermen on charges of illegal fishing in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. Last weekend, 32 fishermen from Rameswaram were arrested, while five boats were seized, prompting Tamil Nadu fishermen to go on a strike.

For many years now, war-affected Tamil fishermen in northern fishermen have been flagging a depleting catch, owing to overfishing by Indian trawlers. Further, the trawl boats frequently damage Sri Lankan fishermen’s modest fishing gear and nets, bought with their sole savings.

Along the Tamil Nadu coast, especially in Rameswaram and Nagapattinam, thousands of registered fishing boats are used for bottom-trawling, including in the Palk Bay. The owners of these expensive fishing vessels engage daily-wage fishermen to go on the boats and bring back the catch, to which their day’s earnings are tied.

Sri Lanka banned bottom trawling in 2017 but in some fishing hamlets a few, relatively well-off fishermen continue to use trawl boats to maximise their catch and profits, often sparking local conflicts. “I am aware that many of the owners of bottom trawlers in both our countries are politically well connected. But I think there could be a way to end this problem without affecting their business, in the interest of poverty-stricken fisherfolk on both sides,” Mr. Wigneswaran said, urging Mr. Stalin to work with New Delhi on the issue.

It is nearly a decade since the governments of India and Sri Lanka agreed to jointly address the Paly Bay fishing conflict, with a commitment to “expediting the transition towards ending the practice of bottom trawling at the earliest”. However, little has changed since, according to northern Sri Lankan fishermen, whose livelihoods have faced further setbacks in the post-war years, during the pandemic and in the wake of Sri Lanka’s crushing economic meltdown.   In 2022, northern Sri Lankan fishermen wrote to Mr. Stalin, seeking a “progressive” solution to the fisheries conflict that affects fisherfolk in Tamil Nadu and war-hit northern Sri Lanka, and “threatens the historically strong relationship” shared by the two Tamil communities.

Issue taken up in Sri Lankan Parliament

Meanwhile, Vanni district MP Thurairasa Ravikaran of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) recently moved an adjournment motion in the Sri Lankan Parliament, urging the Anura Kumara Dissanayake administration to take steps to end illegal fishing. The motion was seconded by his party colleague and Batticaloa MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, who said that many from Sri Lanka’s northern fishing community voted for the ruling National People’s Power in the 2024 parliamentary polls, in the hope that it would decisively end illegal fishing. The MPs did not name India, but made a general observation on illegal fishing, including by Sri Lankan fishermen.

On Thursday [February 27, 2025], a group of northern fishermen from the islands of Delft, Nainathivu, Eluvaithivu, Mandaithivu, Kayts and Punkudithivu staged a protest in Jaffna, opposing the illegal mechanised bottom trawling by Indian fishermen in their sea, the Sunday Times reported.

(thehindu.com)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by thehindu.com has not been edited by SLM staff)

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Applications for O/L recorrections, open from July 14

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The Department of Examinations has announced that applications for re-scrutiny of the 2024 G.C.E. Ordinary Level (O/L) exam results will be accepted from July 14 to 28.

Results of the exam were released yesterday (July 11) and were published on the websites: www.doenets.lk and www.results.exams.gov.lk.

Students or parents with queries can also call the Department’s hotline 1911 or reach the School Examinations Administration and Results Branch via 0112-785922, 0112-784208, 0112-786616, or 0112-784537.

The Department has also provided all school principals with usernames and passwords to download and print the official result sheets for their schools. Provincial and Zonal Education Directors have received the same credentials to access results for all schools under their purview.

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CEJ urges President to appoint PCoI to probe MV X-Press Pearl disaster

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The Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) has urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to appoint a Presidential Commission to investigate the 2021 environmental disaster caused by the fire aboard the vessel MV X-Press Pearl.

In a letter dated 8 July 2025, signed by CEJ’s Senior Legal Advisor – Attorney-at-Law Ravindranath Dabare, the organisation reiterated the severity of the environmental damage caused by the incident.The CEJ expressed concern over the lack of transparency in the response by authorities, including former Ministers and government officials, and urged the President to establish a commission under the Presidential Commissions of Inquiry Law No. 7 of 1978.

The CEJ outlined two primary recommendations:

  • Reinstate the previously suspended committee and resume the environmental, biodiversity, and socio-economic damage assessment, ensuring the process is completed transparently and the findings are made public.
  • Investigate institutional misconduct and allegations of corruption during the response to the disaster, and take legal action where necessary.

The CEJ also recommended that the proposed commission include environmental scientists, legal experts, and civil society representatives to build public confidence and ensure an independent and credible process.

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SJB MPs & organizers urge Sajith to replace senior officials

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A group of electoral organizers and 10 senior Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MPs have privately urged party leader – Sajith Premadasa to replace long-serving senior officials and leaders, arguing that fresh, dynamic individuals are needed to regain public support after 06 consecutive election defeats.

The group, meeting Premadasa recently, had insisted it was unfair to place blame solely on electoral organizers when the party had lost 02 Presidential Polls, 03 General Elections, and the local government election in succession. 

They warned that unless the party’s top office bearers are restructured immediately, future electoral chances would be equally bleak.

Their strong appeal comes in the wake of preparations to remove several electoral organizers, citing accountability for the string of losses.

The MPs and organizers countered that the SJB had a better chance of winning more seats at the General if the Presidential election had been won, which could have been possible if they had entered a broader coalition with the UNP and other political groups.

They had also argued that Sajith Premadasa missed a crucial opportunity to strengthen his reputation when Gotabaya Rajapaksa first offered to hand over power during the 2022 crisis.

They claimed that certain economic advisors in the party discouraged him from taking on that responsibility, allowing President Ranil Wickremesinghe to build his own voter base by stepping up to the situation instead.

The group stressed that to reverse the party’s fortunes, long-standing leaders and officials must now step aside for new, energetic, youth representatives with innovative ideas.

(Source: Lankadeepa)

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