Fishworkers in Kerala and Lakshadweep are alarmed by the recent move of the Sri Lankan Government giving permission to a Chinese fishing company to use Dikkowita harbour — north of Colombo — to fish in the island’s international waters.
These vessels also have permission to fly the Sri Lankan flag while engaged in the fishing operations.
Fishworkers’ unions fear that the Chinese fishing vessels, equipped with modern satellite-based instruments to track fish shoals, will sweep the Indian Ocean clean.
This would impact the availability of catch for fishermen in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep as well as in the Maldives, says Charles George, President of the Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Aikyavedi (the united front of Kerala fishworkers). George told Business Line that Chinese vessels had been fishing illegally off the Lankan coast for years, but the Rajapaksha Government had given legal cover to this now.
The Chinese vessels would be major threat to India’s rich tuna resources, estimated at 2.5 lakh tonnes, he said, adding that Lakshadweep’s economy relied heavily on tuna. The Chinese trawlers would derail it.
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