Special discussion between Mullaitivu District fishermen and the Minister of Fisheries..

முல்லைத்தீவு மாவட்ட மீனவர்களுக்கும் கடற்தொழில் அமைச்சருக்கும் இடையிலான விசேட கலந்துரையாடல்.. முல்லைத்தீவு மாவட்டத்திற்கு நேற்று (31) விஜயம் மேற்கொண்ட கடற்தொழில் அமைச்சர் கௌரவ இராமலிங்கம் சந்திரசேகர் அவர்கள் மாவட்டத்தின் கொக்குளாய், நாயாறு அளம்பில், முல்லைத்தீவு முதலான கடற்கரைகளு…

Special discussion between Mullaitivu District Fishermen and the Minister of Fisheries..

The Minister of Fisheries, Hon. Ramalingam Chandrasekar, who visited Mullaitivu District yesterday (31), visited the beaches of Kokkulai, Nayaru Alampil, Mullaitivu etc. in the district and conducted a field survey on illegal fishing and discussed with the fishermen. Thereafter, a special discussion between the district fishermen and the Minister of Fisheries was held at the Bandarawanniyan Conference Hall of the District Secretariat at around 2 pm. The purpose of this discussion and the problems faced by the fishermen in the district were explained by the Government Agent of Mullaitivu District, Mr. A. Umamaheswaran. The Minister of Fisheries then inquired about the problems of the fishermen in Mullaitivu District. During this, the fishermen expressed their dissatisfaction to the Minister that illegal fishing is continuously taking place in the Mullaitivu district and that the Department of Fisheries and the Navy are not able to control it. The fishermen also said that they have faith in all the measures taken by the government and that the only thing they are dissatisfied with is the government's action regarding this illegal fishing. Therefore, they stressed that they will continue to carry out protests if illegal fishing is not stopped. Responding to this, the Minister of Fisheries stressed that he would urgently address the shortage of personnel in the Department of Fisheries, bring those involved in illegal fishing to justice, and create a mechanism in collaboration with the District Government Agent, Department of Fisheries, Navy, Police and fishermen to control them, conduct field inspections of the incidents every week and submit a report to him. Therefore, the Minister further stated that new rules will be introduced in the Cabinet to prohibit illegal fishing in the future and if they are passed, those involved in illegal fishing will have to pay higher fines. The Minister assured the fishermen that he would use his full authority to completely prohibit illegal fishing, no matter what.