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Ships flying black flags and carrying opposition lawmakers demand that the government block Indian trawlers.
Sri Lankan fishermen have sent a fleet to ask the government to take more measures to protect the shrimp-rich waters in the north of the island nation from poaching by Indian fishermen.
On Sunday, ships flying black flags and carrying opposition legislators traveled 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the fishing town of Mullaittivu in the northeast to Cape Pedro, the northernmost point in Sri Lanka.
“We took a boat to protest the bottom trawl fishing of Indian fishermen,” Masumantiram, a legislator from the main opposition party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), told reporters at Point Pedro.
Bottom trawl fishing, which was banned in Sri Lankan waters in 2017, involves dragging heavy nets across the seabed to catch large numbers of fish, causing serious damage to the marine ecosystem.
TNA stated that it is protesting against the failure of the Sri Lankan authorities to stop Indian fishermen from poaching and protect the poor local fishing communities.
The government did not immediately comment.
Al Jazeera’s Minel Fernandez reported from the capital Colombo that he said the fishing community had been complaining for years.
“Its roots are in livelihoods. This is about Sri Lankan fishermen struggling to make ends meet, what they are talking about is large-scale poaching by Indian fishing boats that enter Sri Lankan waters and take away valuable fish resources,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez said the protesters demanded that the government enforce the law passed in 2017 more forcefully and ensure that all offenders are held accountable.
Tension between neighbors
India and Sri Lanka are separated by the narrow Parker Strait, a rich fishing ground known for prawns, and poaching has caused tensions between neighboring countries in South Asia.
For most of the island’s decades-long Tamil separatist war ended in May 2009, Sri Lankan fishermen were forbidden to venture out to sea, which allowed Indians to run freely in the area.
But since the end of the war, poaching tensions have increased.
According to locals, Sri Lanka often detains large numbers of Indian fishermen and seizes their boats, but poaching activities have not slackened.
An Indian fisherman was allegedly killed by the Sri Lankan army in March 2017.
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