The Hindu : Fishing in choppy waters

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Wednesday, Feb 25, 2004

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Fishing in choppy waters

By V. Suryanarayan

A policy of drift by India and Sri Lanka in handling the issue of fishing rights will have risky implications.

THE PALK Bay region, which divides the coastal regions of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai and Ramanathapuram districts from the Tamil speaking areas of Sri Lanka, has been in the news in recent years. During the three Eelam Wars, the rich fishing grounds, especially lucrative on the Sri Lankan side of the maritime boundary, was a bone of contention between the Sri Lankan Navy and Tamil Nadu fishermen. With the institution of a ceasefire and subsequent agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Sri Lankan fishermen have resumed fishing operations. However, they find Tamil Nadu fishermen poaching deep into Sri Lankan waters. There had been regular altercations. On a few occasions, backed by the Tigers, Sri Lankan fishermen have taken the law into their hands, captured Indian fishermen, and handed them over to the Sri Lankan authorities. If no viable solution is found soon and the situation is allowed to drift further, there will be serious consequences for India-Sri Lanka relations.

To place the problem in proper perspective, it is necessary to highlight certain background facts. The intimate ties between fishermen and the sea have deeply affected the history, economy and culture of the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu as well as the northern parts of Sri Lanka. The Palk Strait unites and, at the same time, separates the Tamils of India and Sri Lanka. In doing this, it has created distinctive administrative, logistic and security problems. Historically, there has been a constant flow of people, ideas and goods. In the 19th and 20th centuries, thousands of Tamil labourers were ferried across to the island to provide labour for the development of tea plantations. When immigration rules were tightened after independence, illegal migrants found their way to the island through kallathonis. In a strange twist of history, after the communal holocaust of 1983, there was a reverse flow of people. Sri Lankan Tamils came to Tamil Nadu through kallathonis, or what was popularly known as the Eelam Shipping Service. During my recent visit to Jaffna and Mannar, I found that many Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen were, until very recently, staying in Tamil Nadu as refugees.

Fishermen round the world are no respecters of maritime boundaries. Just as fish do not adhere to national boundaries, fishermen move to any area where there is good fishing. In the context of India-Sri Lanka relations, it is necessary to point out that not only do Indian fishermen get into Sri Lankan waters, Sri Lankan fishermen regularly poach into Kerala waters, fish near the Minicoy group of islands, and enter the Maldivian waters to catch Tuna.

Compounding the situation is the unrestricted and unregulated deployment of mechanised trawlers. When prawn prices escalated in the United States and Japan in the 1960s, Norwegians introduced bottom trawling in Neendakara in Kerala to harvest prawns. The lucrative practice soon spread to other parts of the country. Bottom trawling causes irreparable damage to marine resources, because it removes everything from the seabed. A senior officer of the Sri Lankan Navy characterised trawler fishing as "raping the sea." The quick profits from prawn exports attracted capitalists on to the scene. According to the Tamil Nadu Marine Fisherfolk Census of 2000, Nagapattinam district has 1,465 trawlers, Thanjavur 469, Pudukkottai 866, and Ramanathapuram 1,864. The number of trawlers has increased since 2000. In consequence, the Indian side of the maritime boundary is virtually devoid of fish. As a Mandapam fisherman told me, "If we have to catch fish, we should venture into the Sri Lankan side of the maritime boundary."

The civil war in Sri Lanka since 1983 has had tragic consequences for Sri Lankan fishermen. Fishing is one of the major vocations of the Tamil areas of Sri Lanka. Some 38 per cent of the total fish production used to be the share of the northern districts of Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Mannar districts. According to statistics made available by the Government Agent in Jaffna, Jaffna produced 48,776 tonnes of fish in 1983; this declined to 2,211 tonnes in 2000. After the declaration of ceasefire, fish production has picked up; in 2003 it went up to 21,206 tonnes. The corresponding figure for Mannar in 1983 was 11,798 tonnes; this was down to 3,614 tonnes in 2002.

Following the Memorandum of Understanding concluded between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE in September 2001, restrictions on fishing were removed. The displaced fishermen have resumed fishing. However, they find poaching by Indian fishermen in large numbers to be a major obstacle. The local fishermen pointed out that Indian trawlers regularly trespass into Sri Lankan waters, move near Delft Island and Pesalai, sever their fishing nets, and cause enormous damage to marine resources by bottom trawling. The fishermen in Delft Island do not venture into sea on three days when Indian trawlers come very near to the island. The fishermen in Mannar, especially Pesalai, reported that the Indian trawlers could be seen 200 metres away from the shore. According to Mohammad Ali Thayoob, Assistant Director of Fisheries, Mannar, Indian fishermen take away every month six lakh Sri Lankan rupees worth of giant tiger prawns and other high value species of fish.

Muddying the waters of the Palk Bay are the Sea Tigers, who have emerged as a credible fighting force. Except for the island of Mannar and the outer islands in Jaffna, the coastal regions on the Sri Lankan side of the Palk bay are under the control of the LTTE. This control includes Nachchikuda, where the Sea Tigers are given intensive training. The Tigers not only demand de facto naval status; they also insist on "control over the marine and offshore resources of the adjacent seas and the power to regulate them."

There have been four major incidents in which the Tigers played a big role. On September 18, 2002, fishermen from Pesalai held 105 Indian fishermen, along with 25 fishing boats, hostage. On January 1, 2003, Jaffna fishermen apprehended 36 Indian fishermen fishing off Pooneryn. On December 1, 2003, the Tigers apprehended 32 Indian fishermen and eight trawlers in Vidakaltivu near Mannar. According to informed sources, on one occasion, Indian fishermen had to pay a huge ransom to the Tigers to get the fishermen and trawlers released. During my recent visit to Jaffna, the news arrived that Sri Lankan fishermen had detained 27 Indian fishermen and captured five trawlers in Viyaparimoolai and Inparutty near Point Pedro.

True to their political style, the Tigers are pursuing a clever and dangerous policy. They are telling Sri Lankan Tamils that the Navy is incapable of protecting their interests. The Navy, in LTTE propaganda, is more interested in befriending India. The Tigers are also sending a signal to India that if the issue is to be resolved amicably, India should talk to them directly, which would imply giving de facto legitimacy to the LTTE as the third naval force in the region.

A policy of drift has risky implications. At present Colombo and New Delhi are adopting a policy of `fire fighting'. When Indian fishermen are detained and trawlers captured, the official machinery gets into top gear so that the issue is resolved amicably. In other words, the fire is extinguished. But what is required is removing the cause of fire. There is no doubt that the Sri Lankan Navy is extremely sensitive to the necessity of preserving good bilateral relations. The naval authorities in Mannar informed me that they do not detain the trawlers; they release the crew after impounding the licences.

An enduring solution to the problem presupposes that the Sri Lankan fishermen should be allowed to carry on fishing operations in Sri Lankan waters. A great responsibility rests on the Government of Tamil Nadu and Indian fishermen. Indian fishermen must refrain from fishing deep in Sri Lankan waters. It is inhuman to deny livelihood to Sri Lankan fishermen who are among the worst hit as a result of the protracted civil war. Fortunately, they do not fish near the international maritime boundary.

Keeping in mind the interests of Sri Lankan and Indian fishermen alike, the best solution will be to introduce a system where licensed Indian fishermen could be permitted to fish in Sri Lankan waters up to five nautical miles. The number of fishing boats, the type of fishing vessels (mechanised trawlers must be banned), the number of fishing days, the amount of catch and the licence fee should be settled after detailed negotiations. Reciprocally, Sri Lankan fishermen could be permitted to fish in the Arabian Sea and near the Minicoy Islands on the same terms and conditions. What is more, instead of viewing the Palk Bay as a source of conflict, India and Sri Lanka should jointly initiate steps to enrich marine resources in the southern parts of South Asia. The Palk Bay and the Indian Ocean are the common inheritance of both countries.

(Prof. V. Suryanarayan is former Director, Centre for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Madras, Chennai.)

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