Sri Lankan Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekhar in his office in Colombo on Wednesday (December 11, 2024). |Photo Credit: Meera Srinivasan
Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister says the continuing fishing dispute in Palk Bay, which is affecting fishermen in northern Sri Lanka and day-wage fishermen in Tamil Nadu, will be definitively resolved only if the Indian side stops using destructive bottom trawling methods. Ramalingam Chandrasekhar says it can be done.
Fisheries disputes have long been an important diplomatic issue between India and Sri Lanka. The matter is likely to be discussed during President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s visit to India scheduled for next week.
“People from all ethnicities and geographical regions, including the northern, eastern and mountainous regions, voted for us (National People Power Alliance) and gave us a great mandate in the recently held elections. We have a responsibility to respond to their concerns,” said Chandrasekhar, who represents the north Jaffna district in parliament. “The long-standing issue regarding bottom trawl vessels used by Indian fishermen originating from Tamil Nadu has become a major concern of our northern fishing communities,” he said on Wednesday (December 11, 2024). , told The Hindu at the Ministry of Fisheries.
He said the resolution of the Indo-Lanka fishing dispute is part of the NPP government’s comprehensive plan to strengthen Sri Lanka’s fish production using modern technology and sustainable methods. According to the NPP’s pre-poll manifesto, the country’s per capita fish consumption has now fallen from 17.2 kg in 2017 to 11.07 kg, reflecting the decline in the population’s protein intake. Malnutrition is in the spotlight, especially after the country suffered a devastating economic crisis in 2022. “We need to intensify seafood production to ensure that people have access to nutrition. To do that, our oceans and marine biodiversity need to be protected,” Chandrasekhar said. Ta.
destructive method
Fishing conflicts in Palk Bay are primarily over competing livelihoods as fish catches are rapidly declining. Fishermen in northern Sri Lanka have long pointed to bottom trawling as a fundamental problem despite the bilaterally agreed virtual maritime boundaries that demarcate the territorial waters of neighboring countries.
A “bottom trawl” is a fishing vessel that typically drags large fishing nets along the ocean floor, scooping up everything from eggs and fry to marine plants in addition to catching desired fish and shrimp. Indian fishermen from various coastal states, including Tamil Nadu, have been using this fishing method for decades to increase India’s seafood exports and earn high profits.
After discussing the issue at a bilateral meeting in 2016, India and Sri Lanka agreed to establish a “Joint Working Group” to, among other things, “facilitate the transition to end the practice of bottom trawling as soon as possible.” . But there is no respite for the Tamil fishermen who live along Sri Lanka’s northern coast and are among the hardest hit by the island’s protracted civil war, which ended in 2009. Fifteen years have passed since then, and they are still largely unable to rebuild their lives. This is due to damage caused by bottom trawl fishing by Indian fishermen.
Sri Lanka banned the fishing method in 2017 and imposed heavy fines on foreign fishing vessels in 2018. Despite these moves and persistent appeals from fishermen in northern Sri Lanka, fishermen in Tamil Nadu have yet to abandon this destructive fishing method.
Meanwhile, daily wage fishermen from Tamil Nadu employed by trawler owners are frequently arrested and their vessels seized by the Sri Lankan Navy on suspicion of operating illegally in Sri Lankan territorial waters. By 2024, the number of arrests will exceed 530, more than double the number from last year. More than 400 of them have been released and repatriated, according to official updates.
On Wednesday (December 11, 2024), India’s High Commissioner Santosh Jha called ministers to his office and “stressed on taking a humane and constructive approach in addressing the issue of fishermen.” We called for the early release of the fishermen,” the High Commission posted on X.
The Sri Lankan Minister said that Sri Lanka highly values India’s important and timely assistance during the 2022 economic crisis and that President Dissanayake’s government also appreciates the importance of its relationship with India. “India is not only Sri Lanka’s neighbor and important development partner, but also a country with which we share historical and cultural ties…Our grandparents and great-grandparents are from India,” he said. said Chandrasekhar, a native of the country. ) A community of Tamils brought to work on the plantations of Sri Lanka by the British two centuries ago. “Many of us still have family ties to Tamil Nadu,” he said, urging the people and governments of India and Tamil Nadu to see the “bigger picture” of fisheries issues. I urged him to look.
“While there is a tendency to view the fishing conflict as a conflict between the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and the Sri Lankan Navy, it is clear that bottom trawl fishing has seriously affected the livelihoods of the Tamil fishermen in northern Sri Lanka, incurring huge losses. “You have to understand that there was a war going on,” he said.
The minister pointed to several rounds of official consultations and past discussions between fishing leaders, saying that “different actors have politicized this issue for their own interests and have failed to find a real solution. Resolving this issue requires political will on both sides. Our government is committed to finding lasting solutions, and we owe it to our northern fishermen to protect our marine ecosystems. You have to do this to do it.”
issued – December 12, 2024 10:17 PM IST
