{"id":15809,"date":"2013-02-02T23:57:36","date_gmt":"2013-02-03T04:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=15809"},"modified":"2013-02-02T23:57:36","modified_gmt":"2013-02-03T04:57:36","slug":"aggressive-poaching-by-indian-fishing-trawler-fleets-in-sri-lankan-waters-drastically-affects-livelihood-of-100000-northern-fisherfolk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=15809","title":{"rendered":"Aggressive Poaching by Indian fishing Trawler Fleets in Sri Lankan Waters Drastically Affects Livelihood of 100,000 Northern Fisherfolk"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Namini Wijedasa<\/strong><\/p>\n

For three days a week, ten months of the year, Sri Lanka\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fishermen in the North are forced off the seas by a swathe of hefty Indian trawlers for which their fibreglass boats are no match. Residents of Pesalai and Talaimannar in the north-west coast can often see the trawlers bobbing on the horizon during evening hours. They cross into Sri Lankan waters by nightfall, haul their nets over the seabed and leave unhindered before dawn, with catches of fish, succulent prawn and pricey sea cucumber.<\/p>\n

Indian trawling in Sri Lankan seas is a longstanding issue. But researchers warn it has reached such overwhelming proportions that a serious conflict is looming. The Indian fleet has burgeoned to nearly 2000 vessels. Discussions between the two governments have not helped.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Indian trawlers are only absent in June and October,\u201d said Herman Kumara, convenor of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO). \u201cThey come in huge numbers from Rameshwaram towards Talaimannar. They also approach Jaffna from the Nagapattinam side. They were recently seen on the Mullaitivu and Pulmoddai sides while fishermen in Kokilai and Nayaru are also reporting poaching,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Kumara claimed that two weeks ago, the trawlers were observed as near as seven to eight kilometres from Uchchimunai Island in Kalpitiya. Sri Lankan fishermen keep away on such days because their boats, engines and nets are damaged by the large Indian vessels. By dragging iron bars along the seabed, poachers destroy everything, including coral reefs and seaweed.<\/p>\n

Maarten Bavinck, a Dutch researcher and expert on marine fisheries in South Asia, recently spent several weeks in a coastal village in Sri Lanka\u2019s north-east. He asked fishermen to keep a record of their fishing operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn average, they haven\u2019t been going out more than sixty days a year,\u201d he recounted, in an interview with the Sunday Times. Fishermen are forced to find other work, to supplement their meagre earnings. \u201cIt is having a major impact on the livelihoods of these people,\u201d he stressed. \u201cThey are very angry and very frustrated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Bavinck said an estimated 25,000 fulltime fishermen in the Northern Province have been affected. When their families are counted, this figure rises to more than 100,000. It is a severe blow to a community that suffered intensely during thirty years of war.<\/p>\n

Last year, fishermen captured several Indian trawlers off Point Pedro. These were quickly released by Sri Lankan authorities and the fishermen were warned not to repeat such a feat. \u201cBut they have little option in terms of how to voice their grievance and to get it on the agenda,\u201d Dr. Bavinck said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Bavinck is director of the Amsterdam based Centre for Maritime Research. Interestingly, he grew up in Jaffna where his father, the missionary Ben Bavinck, was a teacher at Jaffna College. He first studied the north-east coast in the late 1970s, for his Master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

Dr. Bavinck now heads a project in which several academic and non-academic institutions across three countries\u2014South Africa, India and Sri Lanka\u2014are studying fishing conflicts. They aim to understand the situation and to help improve governance in areas like the Palk Bay. The Universities of Ruhuna and Jaffna are among their partners.<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s immediate goal is \u201cto find some kind of solution to this trawler problem which will give more breathing space to the small Sri Lankan fishermen\u201d. \u201cIn a sense, this is a pilot for trying to move forward in a very difficult context,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are talking about a trans-boundary issue, which brings in foreign affairs, security and defence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Damage to the ecosystem is an urgent concern. A recent study in Spain has shown that trawling has significantly levelled the seabed, changing the marine environment with detrimental consequences for fish stocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would normally expect after a war, when people have not been fishing, for fish stocks to have increased,\u201d Dr. Bavinck said. \u201cBut fishermen in the North are coming back and saying their catches are much lower than they used to be. They attribute this to the Indian trawlers coming from various ports.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sheer size of the Indian trawling fleet is a daunting impediment. \u201cThe problem, in a major sense, lies on the Indian side,\u201d Dr. Bavinck elaborated. \u201cThere is a massive fleet of trawlers that has been built up over the past decade. Our assumption is that these problems in the Palk Bay cannot be solved with these fleets remaining in this size.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA decrease in the size of the trawling fleet is a must if this is to be successful in any way,\u201d he reiterated. \u201cOnly then can Indian fishermen stick to their own waters. Now they are relying on fish stocks that are not in their own waters.\u201dBut just as much as poaching impacts employment on the Sri Lankan side, a cutback in the trawling fleet will now aggrieve large numbers on the Indian side. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re talking of 25,000 seagoing fishermen in Sri Lanka, the number of fishermen on the Indian side who depend, to varying degrees, on Sri Lankan resources would be 30 to 40,000, even 50,000,\u201d said V. Vivekanandan, Secretary of the Fisheries Management Resource Centre (Fishmarc) in Trivandrum. He is also an advisor to the South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies.<\/p>\n

The Palk Bay districts in Tamil Nadu are dry, agricultural areas in which there is little other employment opportunity. This has resulted in an inflow into fisheries. \u201cNow you are stuck with a situation of 2000 boats that people have invested a lot of money on, that people depend on for their income,\u201d Dr. Bavinck said. \u201cYou can\u2019t just tell them, look, you better stop at the border. That won\u2019t work in a practical way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem at the moment, at least from the Indian side, is to find a practical way of solving this problem,\u201d Vivek agreed. \u201cThat is the big challenge, even to explain to the policy makers and politicians.\u201d<\/p>\n

India-SL joint statement limited to paper<\/p>\n

Beleaguered fishermen in Sri Lanka\u2019s North ask why the Navy does not stop Indian poachers. The answer lies in an India-Sri Lankan Joint Statement on Fishing Arrangements issued after talks in October 2008 between Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Indian officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of these practical arrangements,\u201d it states, \u201cfollowing the designation by the Government of Sri Lanka of sensitive areas along the Sri Lankan coastline and their intimation to the Government of India, Indian fishing vessels will not venture into these identified sensitive areas. Further, there will be no firing on Indian fishing vessels.\u201d<\/p>\n

An India-Sri Lanka Joint Statement issued on January 22, 2013, repeats these pledges. It says both sides were committed to decreasing incidents pertaining to fishing on the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). They concurred that the use of force could not be justified under any circumstances and agreed to treat all fishermen humanely. They welcomed decisions of a Joint Working Group on Fishing and encouraged senior officials to meet regularly.<\/p>\n

But nothing the two governments have agreed on has solved the problem. The Joint Working Group on Fishing, set up amidst much applause, has met just twice and also produced nothing worthwhile.<\/p>\n

The Hindu newspaper recently quoted V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, as saying that the two countries were close to \u201cclinching an agreement on drawing a fishing boundary in the Palk Strait\u201d<\/p>\n

Authoritative sources told the Sunday Times, \u201cThere\u2019s no agreement in the offing\u201d. \u201cSri Lanka is only discussing with Indian authorities to discourage people from crossing the IMBL,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

They also said that Sri Lankan fishermen continue to be arrested when they trespass into Indian waters. While they are released speedily in Tamil Nadu, it could take as long as three to six months to secure their release in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. V. Vivekanandan, an Indian activist, said it was significant that both countries have recognised the fishing conflict could not be resolved by force. But he was disappointed that official, bilateral talks have not borne fruit. He said government support for informal discussions between the fishermen in India and Sri Lanka would be infinitely more useful.<\/p>\n

In 2004, a meeting was held in Colombo between 21 fishermen from South India and 30 fishermen from Sri Lanka\u2019s North. The idea was for the two communities to reach agreement.<\/p>\n

The Sri Lankan fishermen made it clear that they would never accept trawling. The idea of a trawl fleet reduction was floated. The second meeting took place in August 2010 (the war and tsunami delayed the process). Observers from Sri Lanka\u2019s Fisheries Department also attended.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea clicked at one level,\u201d said Mr. Vivekanandan. \u201cBut the government then said, okay, this is very good, but we will now take it up officially. After having taken it up, they are not moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two governments held a \u201cnamesake\u201d meeting in 2011, just to keep the ball going, he said. \u201cWe had three days of discussions and had such difficulty arriving at a solution,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThey had a one-hour meeting and said this is only a start of talks! They said the Sri Lankan team will come to Chennai and they will have more talks. It hasn\u2019t happened. Maybe both governments are dragging their feet.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, he cautioned, the conflict is worsening because Indian fishermen are continuing to evolve their strategies. \u201cSuddenly, the boats have become even bigger,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cIt\u2019s all very messy now.\u201dCOURTESY:SUNDAY TIMES<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Namini Wijedasa For three days a week, ten months of the year, Sri Lanka\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fishermen in the North are forced off the seas by a swathe of hefty Indian trawlers for which their fibreglass boats are no match. Residents of Pesalai and Talaimannar in the north-west coast can often see the trawlers bobbing on …<\/p>\n

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