By The Sri Lankan Fisheries Ministry is taking a new approach to deter Indian fishermen from engaging in illegal bottom trawling in its northern waters. Instead of just prosecuting the skippers and crew of the poaching vessels, the ministry will now also prosecute the owners of the vessels.
Under this new approach, the owners of Indian bottom trawlers will be named as the first accused in poaching cases, and they will be notified by the courts to appear in person. This is expected to have a greater deterrent effect than simply punishing the skippers and crew.
The ministry hopes that this new approach will help to protect Sri Lankan marine resources and prevent further damage to the country’s fishing industry..However, there could be an issue of implementation as trawler owners don’t come into the sea and they are mostly within Indian jurisdiction
