- Ministry steps up action with Navy, Coast Guard
The Ministry of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources has set up a joint mechanism with the Sri Lanka Navy and Coast Guard to track down people using explosives to catch fish, amid a rise in cases involving the illegal practice.
The Ministry is also conducting awareness programmes among fishermen and schoolchildren on the environmental damage caused by fishing with explosives.
Speaking to The Daily Morning, Ministry Secretary Dr Kolitha Kamal Jinadasa said the joint mechanism had been established because the practice could not be tackled by one institution alone. “This is not an operation we can single-handedly handle. Hence, we have incorporated the Coast Guard and the Navy also to crack down on those engaged in these activities,” he said.
He said weekly meetings are held in each district to address such incidents. “In every district, with the District Secretary and the District Assistant Director, a weekly committee is established. In that, there is the Police, Sri Lanka Navy, the Fisheries Ministry, the representatives of the fisheries committees of the district, and they hold weekly committee meetings.”
Dr Jinadasa further said the practice is generally carried out using small fishing boats rather than multi-day boats operating from harbours. “Catching fish with explosives is not usually done with the multi-day fishing boats that leave from a harbour. This practice happens with the small boats. One might be carrying the explosives, the other would explode it, and the next would carry the fish with them. When caught, they can say they didn’t use any explosives, but they saw some fish floating on the water and captured them.”
He said arrests are therefore often made based on information received from fishermen. “Hence, it is with a tip that we usually capture the perpetrators. But we have started the awareness programme to make people aware. We believe that this is more effective. The areas where explosive fishing occurs vary depending on seasonal fishing patterns. These days it is Mullaitivu and Ambalangoda,” he said.
He explained that explosives cause serious damage to fish and marine ecosystems. “The dynamite doesn’t spare for the size. There is an air balloon-like organ of the fish and this explodes due to the shock and they start floating on the water and die. This is an environmental damage if they use explosives near the corals,” he said.
Fishing with explosives such as dynamite or gelignite has become an increasing issue in recent weeks, with more than 4,000 kilograms of fish allegedly caught using explosives seized in two incidents.