Tamil fishermen in Mullaitivu have condemned what they describe as a covert move by Sri Lanka’s Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to allow Sinhala fishermen from Weli Oya to operate along the Pulipaainthakal coast, which they say risks fuelling ethnic tensions.
The directive, signed by the Director General of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources two days ago, was quietly dispatched to the District Assistant Director of Fisheries and copied to the head of the Weli Oya Rural Fishermen’s Association. No public announcement was made.
According to Sinhala fishermen from Weli Oya, an area deep in the Mullaitivu district that was seized from Tamils during the state’s colonisation programme, the drought season has caused inland water bodies to dry up, impacting their freshwater fishing income. They claim this has forced them to seek permission to engage in sea fishing.
Local fishermen say the justification is disingenuous. Pulipaainthakal’s rich fishing grounds are around 15 miles from Weli Oya, firmly within Tamil fishing zones.
Members of the Weli Oya Rural Fishermen’s Association have previously been accused of entering and fishing in inland reservoirs without authorisation, leading to repeated disputes with those who hold official fishing permits. Tamil fishermen now fear that the latest decision will embolden further encroachment.
Fishermen’s unions in Mullaitivu say the move not only threatens their livelihoods but is part of a broader pattern of state-backed demographic and economic displacement in the North-East, where militarisation and state-sponsored settlement schemes have long undermined Tamil control over land and resources.
