Fishing restrictions imposed by the Sri Lanka Navy for fishermen in Sri Lanka's eastern coast have been relaxed, officials said Sunday.

Accordingly the fishermen are afforded a further three hours for fishing, a Naval spokesman said.

Fishermen are now allowed fishing between 3 a.m. and 6 p.m. for five days a week with effect from Sunday.

Earlier the fishing was allowed only between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. for four days a week.

Restrictions came to be imposed in August last year when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) started attacking the eastern port of Trincomalee by deploying cadres in the guise of fishermen.

However the fishermen have been appealing to the government to lift restrictions in view of the hardships faced by them.

The government says the safety around the strategic Trincomalee port has been well secured with a series of military victories by the troops against the LTTE since September last year.

Source: Xinhua