By S. Rubatheesan
Sri Lanka’s Northern fishermen continue to insist that Indian fishermen should abandon harmful mechanised bottom trawling immediately and are inviting Tamil Nadu-based politicians to see for themselves the destruction it has wreaked on local communities.
Welcoming President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s request to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi this week to curb this Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing method, Northern fisherfolk leaders are hopeful Sri Lanka’s new government will protect their livelihoods and revive the one-time rich fishing economy in the province.
Annalingam Annarasa, Secretary of Kayts Fishermen Cooperative Society, told the Sunday Times that despite the President flagging the issue with Indian leadership this week, Indian fishermen have not stopped bottom trawling in Sri Lankan waters.
On Monday, at least 17 Indian fishermen and two bottom trawlers were taken into custody in Mannar. The men were remanded by the Mannar magistrate.
“There have been reports of considering this poaching issue as a humanitarian matter. Who is going to take into account our sufferings and damages to our resources due to this in the same manner?” asked Annarasa.
Since the end of the war in 2009, the Northern fisherfolk communities have opposed their South Indian counterparts for fishing in their waters at the expense of their livelihoods.
“We took up the issue with successive governments in the past but nothing happened. Our Tamil political leadership also failed to highlight the problem due to their ties in Tamil Nadu. The National People’s Power government should find a lasting solution,” Secretary of Northern Province Fishermen’s Association N.M. Aalam said.
Following Monday’s arrests, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday requested India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to take “concerted steps through diplomatic channels to secure the immediate release of all fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy, and their boats.”
“In [one of] this outrageous incident, three fishermen were injured and their belongings such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and Very High-Frequency (VHF) equipment, nets, mobile phones, and catch were robbed from their boats…In 2024, 530 fishermen were arrested and 71 boats, were confiscated. The recent arrests and attacks have created a sense of fear among the fisherfolk,” Mr. Stalin wrote.
During his two-day official visit to India, President Dissanayake urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take urgent steps to stop bottom trawling.
“Recognising the irreparable ecological damage caused by bottom trawling which is a banned practice in both countries, I requested that measures be taken to stop this practice and curb IUU fishing,” President Dissanayake said, while vowing to adopt a cooperative approach towards a sustainable solution based on the recently concluded Sixth Joint Working Group on Fisheries.
A joint statement issued after the bilateral talks between the two leaders acknowledged the problems of fishermen on both sides, particularly livelihood concerns.
“…the leaders agreed on the need to continue to address these in a humanitarian manner,” it said. “In this regard, they also underscored the need to take measures to avoid any aggressive behaviour or violence. They welcomed the recent conclusion of the 6th Joint Working Group Meeting on Fisheries in Colombo. The leaders expressed confidence that through dialogue and constructive engagements, a long-lasting and mutually acceptable solution could be achieved,” the statement stressed.
Compared with 2023, the Sri Lankan Navy has intensified patrolling and surveillance activities along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) resulting higher number of Indian fishermen’s arrests. This year alone, the Navy has arrested 546 Indian fishermen and seized 72 bottom trawlers.
“Based on specific instructions given by the Navy Commander, we have increased our maritime surveillance activities in North and North Central Naval commands. This has resulted in the higher number of fishermen arrests in the recent past,” Navy Spokesperson Captain Indika De Silva said.
He stressed that the Navy arrests trespassing Indian fishermen if they fail to obey their warnings and first attempts to chase them away from Sri Lankan territorial waters. “It is the last thing we do, and we never use any type of violence on fishermen,” he said.
- Minister says only official-level engagement will continue
By S. Rubatheesan
The Fisheries Ministry has decided to scrap future Indo-Lanka talks at the fishermen level on the ongoing issue of illegal mechanised bottom trawling by Indian fishermen in Sri Lanka’s Northern waters while sticking only to official-level engagement between the two countries on technical assistance and support.
“There will be no talks between fishermen groups of the two countries anymore. Those were concluded a long time ago. Talks at official levels are currently underway between respective institutions on technical assistance and support,” Fisheries, Aquatic, and Ocean Resources Minister R. Chandrasekar told reporters on Friday in Jaffna.
The minister’s response came following President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s recent New Delhi visit, during which the illegal bottom trawling of Indian fishermen entering Sri Lankan waters was taken up.
The joint statement released after the top-level talks between the two leaders noted that “the leaders agreed on the need to continue to address these in a humanitarian manner. They underscored the need to take measures to avoid any aggressive behaviour or violence.” During his visit, President Dissanayake also stressed the “irreparable ecological damage caused by bottom trawling, a banned practice in both countries” and urged Indian authorities to take measures to stop the practice and curb illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices.
In 2017, the bottom trawling practice was designated as a banned fishing practice, punishable under the law through an amendment introduced to the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act.
The sixth Joint Working Group meeting between the two countries took place on October 29. It stressed that the “highest priority should be accorded to addressing the various issues faced by fishermen in a humanitarian manner as they pertain to livelihood concerns on both sides.
Northern fishermen also repeatedly stressed that several previous fishermen-level talks ended inconclusively as Indian fishermen failed to stop engaging in bottom trawling practices as agreed in 2014, followed by a two-year grace period to switch to alternative fishing methods.
“Other than this [official-level talks], we will not be seeking any humanitarian basis assistance, either giving or securing it from them [India]. This would be our humanitarian basis,” Minister Chandrasekar said. (Courtesy- The Sunday Times)
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