| by Commodore R. S. Vasan (Retd.)
( April 10, 2013, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) It is difficult not to come across print or a visual media report that does not carry news almost on a daily basis, about the intrusion of the Indian fishermen in to Sri Lankan waters and being apprehended by the SL Navy.
That the Indian fishermen are violating the Sri Lankan waters is reported rarely. Then there are routine reports ad nauseum about the strong statements issued by the CM of Tamil Nadu and the protest letters sent out to Delhi for stern action against a small neighbour . The undisputed facts of the case and the remedies suggested are covered in the subsequent discussions.
The Indian fishermen exercised their fishing rights right till 1974 when India ceded Kacchativu to Sri Lanka to demarcate the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).Unfortunately, it has been recorded that then PM Indira gandhi had said that it is a barren Island little realizing that the barren Island was surrounded by rich fishing grounds. The agreement in 1974 allowed the Indian fishermen to dry their nets on this ceded Island around which there was always good quantity of fish. The clarification that they cannot fish but could dry their nets defied any logic. Why would fishermen dry their nets if they were not interested on fishing in that area? Why should he come to this Island only to dry nets after fishing elsewhere??? . It is possible that the intention was to continue to allow the Indian fishermen to fish in the areas around Kacchativu where they had exercised the traditional rights for fishing through generations. Though, the Indo Sri Lankan IMBL has been resolved, India is yet to resolve its maritime boundary issues with the other two neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In 1976, the then External Minister Swaran Singh clarified in the parliament that Indian fishermen did not have the right to cross over to the Sri Lankan side of the IMBL for fishing and therefore, the question of either fishing or drying nets in Kacchativu did not arise.
Both in 1974 and in 1976, the Tamil Nadu Government did precious little to protest if it felt that the action by the Centre was not in order. It is now being argued by the State, that the Centre had no right to cede any Indian territory without a parliamentary debate and approval. The Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has indicated that she would move the Supreme Court for seeking legal remedy on this constitutional mistake committed by the center. There are questions about why there is such unprecedented delay and inaction by the State which feels that the nearly three decade old decision was not right.
The fishermen from Tamil Nadu have never heeded to advice from any quarter and have continued to fish in the troubled waters inviting the wrath of the neighbouring fishermen who are also Tamils from Sri Lanka. The Tamil Nadu fishermen had free access to the rich fishing grounds as the Sri Lankan Government had banned fishing in the areas of conflict till the defeat of the LTTE. Many fishermen used this opportunity to also support the LTTE by smuggling essentials required for the war effort. With the defeat of the LTTE the Sri Lankan fishermen have started fishing in their own waters and feel threatened by the intrusion of the Indian fishermen. The Sri Lankan fishermen have also objected to the use of mechanized trawlers by Indian fishermen who have indiscriminately fished in Palk bay by bottom trawling and have contributed to near complete depletion of fish stock in Indian waters by over exploitation. The Sri Lankan fishermen fear that their fishing grounds will meet similar fate.
The routine crossing over of fishermen from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in to each other’s territory is not uncommon and there are mechanisms to ensure that the fishermen are not unduly harassed due to navigational mistakes or even intentional crossing of the IMBL. India has even set up a hotline between Islamabad and New Delhi to exchange such information. All the nations involved continue to detain erring fishermen. If India has a right to arrest the poaching fishermen from the neighbouring countries, the neighbouring countries have the same responsibilities in their respective areas and are well within their rights to exercise similar responses. It is of course expected that due care would be taken to handle the offenders humanely.
The fishermen issue has turned political and every regional party wants to curry favour with the fishermen lobby by supporting their claims without the benefit of any impartial inquiry. To date there is no record of any joint investigation conducted by the two nations to investigate the alleged offences committed by the Sri Lankan navy. Therefore in effect, the unproved allegations of the Tamil Nadu fishermen become the tools for political missiles to be hurled at the center. The belligerent stand of Tamil Nadu, that the Indian fishermen should have unfettered access to the sovereign fishing grounds of any neighbouring country just because there is no fish on the Indian side, defies logic. It is the responsibility of the State to ensure that the fishermen are facilitated in pursuing alternate vocation by training and rehabilitation processes if the means of livelihood are affected due to natural or manmade causes.
The answer lies in ensuring that the Indian fishermen are trained in deep sea fishing on modern fishing vessels in the exclusive economic zone which extends up to 200 nautical miles from the coast line. India is blessed with over two million square kilometers of EEZ and there are many areas which are routinely poached by other nationals including Sri Lankan fishing vessels. For the first time the Tamil Nadu vision paper 2023 has a provision for deep sea fishing vessels to be acquired. This needs to be expedited and also more deep sea fishing vessels and even floating factories are required to be procured along with the supporting cold chain over land that will help in export of the frozen/processed stock.
There have been many other suggestions made by analysts who feel that a perpetual lease of the fishing grounds around Kacchativu would be a good idea. Unfortunately, in an era of dwindling fish stocks and increased competition for living resources, this is unlikely to find favour with the Sri Lankan counter parts. The answer undoubtedly lies in expediting the deep sea fishing option and also to enable the fishing community from Tamil Nadu to take up new vocational training in related areas with the support of the State.
According to an RTI activist, there have been many cases filed by the fishermen who claimed that they were attacked by the SL Navy. Unfortunately, these cases have not been investigated and pursued to their logical conclusion. The Coast Guard was also drawn in to the controversy and was required to provide an affidavit in the Madurai High Court about the facts of the case. The statement by the Coast Guard that the Indian fishermen were indeed straying in to the Sri Lankan waters though factual was not liked by the State Government. The Coast Guard and the Indian Navy maintain that there have been no firing incidents in the Indian waters and have been categoric that the Sri Lankan navy does not enter Indian waters to apprehend the Indian fishermen. The Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy also meet their counterparts every quarter at the IMBL and discuss these issues. Invariably, such meetings reinforce the fact that the Indian fishermen continue to violate the IMBL routinely. This is also supported by the radar pictures taken by both the sides. So it is clear that the Indian fishermen deliberately cross in to Sri Lankan waters and are apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy.Indian fishermen have no qualms in admitting that they indeed cross the IMBL and fish in Sri Lankan waters as there is no fish on the Indian side.
The representation made by the National Fish workers Forum to the Prime Minister on 08 April to set up the India Sri Lanka Maritime Authority(ISMA) to resolve such disputes merits serious consideration. The forum has indicated that there are similar provisions in other parts of the world such as Japan Korea and Russia for resolving such disputes. The ISMA would help in resolving long standing issues in Palk Bay as long as both the nations work together and have a dynamic model that would address the issues in the Palk Bay. Despite some of the practical difficulties that may be experienced on ground, the Centre and the State should seriously consider implementing this suggestion and also should empower the ISMA to investigate all incidents in the respective fishing areas. A lot of preparatory work is required by both India and Sri Lanka if this proposal is to find favour and rendered workable. While it will not solve the problem of lack of fish stock in the area, at least, ISMA will be equipped and empowered to mediate between the two sides that are fighting over dwindling resources on either side of the IMBL.
 ( April 10, 2013, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) It is difficult not to come across print or a vis...){kind=link}