The Hon. Ramalingam Chandrasekar
Hon. Ramalingam Chandrasekar said the supplementary question was unrelated to the main question and could be answered if raised separately. He stated that traditional beach-seine fishing had not been obstructed, but concerns had been raised by environmental reports, including from NARA, about coastal damage caused by the use of winches and tractors. He said operators were given six months’ notice to stop such practices, discussions were held after their protest, and further consultations with stakeholders and experts would determine, within about two months, how the fishery could continue without environmental harm.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, that supplementary is unrelated to the main question. If the Hon. Member raises it as a separate Adjournment or Question, we can give a detailed answer. However, we have not obstructed the traditional beach-seine fishery. The issue is with the use of winches and tractors, which, according to environmental reports including NARA, cause significant coastal damage. We informed the beach-seine operators six months in advance to cease such use. They later held a fast; thereafter, His Excellency discussed with them and common ground was reached. We are now in discussions with stakeholders and environmental experts on how to continue the fishery without environmental harm—whether with winches only and discontinuing tractors, and what alternatives exist. Based on reports expected in two months, we will decide on future action.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 3 March 2026 ·No. 23335 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Ramalingam Chandrasekar. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 3 March 2026. No. 23335. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/14776