Sri Lanka defends move to build artificial reef
Days after Tamil Nadu fishermen protested Sri Lanka’s efforts to build an artificial reef off Delft island, west of Jaffna peninsula, authorities defended the move “aimed at enhancing fish breeding”. “By objecting to an initiative in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, Tamil Nadu fisher leaders have only exposed themselves as parties interested in fishing illegally in the Palk Strait,” he said, referring to the long-persisting Palk Bay fisheries conflict. Despite ongoing bilateral discussions and several rounds of talks between fishermen of both countries, Tamil Nadu fishermen are yet to meet northern Sri Lankan fishermen’s consistent demand that they stop bottom-trawling in their seas. In a tweet indicating Sri Lanka sees its recent initiative also as a deterrent to bottom-trawling, State Minister of Fisheries Kanchana Wijesekera said while the artificial reef would boost fish spawning, “it will also act as a shield against bottom line trawling conducted illegally by the #Indian Fishermen”.
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