The Hon. Rajeevan Jeyachandramoorthy

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I express my appreciation regarding the Adjournment Motion brought by Hon. Ravikaran and presented by Hon. Thurairetnasingam.

¶ 02 Our Northern and Eastern Provinces together account for about 60 percent of Sri Lanka’s territorial sea. Particularly in the 1980s, the Northern Province—especially the Jaffna District—played a major role in the country’s fish production, contributing nearly one-third. Hundreds of lorries transported fish daily from Jaffna to the South. Our fishers thus made a major contribution to the national economy, and their livelihoods were strong.

¶ 03 War and displacement have severely damaged the fisheries sector. Despite persisting, our fishers now face daily difficulties, particularly due to illegal fishing. Fish does not only provide livelihoods to fishers but also significant nutrition to the nation; fish is a high-protein, affordable food.

¶ 04 Today, in the North and East, especially in Jaffna, fishers are in tears because illegal fishing and transboundary incursions have devastated our marine resources and coral reefs, pushing the industry towards collapse. We must act with urgency and compassion to restore these livelihoods. As a people’s government, duty-bound to meet people’s needs, the Fisheries Ministry and relevant authorities should immediately resolve the problems our fishers face and safeguard their livelihoods. I so request from this august House.