Date:Nov 13, 2013
Why the long-standing dispute
between India and Sri Lanka over fishers crossing maritime boundaries remains
unresolved
Many Indian bottom trawlers fish in
Sri Lankan waters. These are blamed for damaging marine ecosystem and
destroying smaller nets and boats of Sri Lankan fishers (Photo: M.arunprasad)
It's not just the alleged atrocities
on Tamils because of which Prime Minister Manmohan apparently skipped the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet (CHOGM) in Colombo that is straining
India's relations with Sri Lanka. Indian and Sri Lankan fishers trespassing
into each other's territorial waters is another big sore point in the relations
between the two nations.
Last week, two fishers from Tamil
Nadu drowned when their boat capsized as they were reportedly being chased by
Sri Lankan naval vessels for crossing the international maritime boundary line.
Thirty other fishers were arrested in the incident. Last month, the Sri Lankan
Navy arrested 32 Indian fishers for illegally fishing in their waters. There
are similar incidents this side of the marine boundary as well. According to
the Sri Lankan ministry of fisheries, around 97 of their fishers are in Indian
custody.
The conflict between Sri Lanka and
Tamil Nadu over fishers is a long-standing one. In the 1970s, both the
countries agreed on a maritime boundary. During the time of civil war in Sri
Lanka, Indian fishers operated freely in Sri Lankan waters, disregarding
this boundary. With the end of the civil war, the situation changed and the Sri
Lankan fishers returned to the sea to find their fishing grounds encroached.
Bottom trawlers from India pose
threat
It is common knowledge that many
Indian bottom trawlers fish in Sri Lankan waters. These are commercial fishing
vessels that operate by dragging multiple nets through water. There are also
allegations that Indian vessels use the kind of fishing net that is banned in
Sri Lanka. Bottom trawlers essentially scrape the seabed, disturbing the marine
environment. Identified as an internationally banned illegal, unregulated,
unreported (IUU) fishing practice, bottom trawling is banned both in India and
Sri Lanka. This fishing practice also creates a lot of fish wastage—as high as
30 per cent.
Herman Kumara, secretary general of
World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP), says in 2010 when a delegation of Sri
Lankan fishers visited Tamil Nadu, the Indian fisher group had agreed to reduce
accessing Sri Lankan waters from 130 days a year to 70 days a year. But this
was not accepted by the governmentsHerman Kumara, secretary general of World
Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP), which works with communities dependent on
fishing for livelihoods, blames the Indian trawlers for catching a lot of fish
and also destroying the smaller nets and boats of Sri Lankan fishers. “We have
long used our waters in a sustainable manner but these trawlers do not follow
this model,” he says. The Sri Lankan fishers stray into Indian waters allegedly
to fish for tuna.
Kumara informs that in 2010, close
to 30 people from Sri Lanka went to Tamil Nadu to try and find a solution to
this problem. In August 2011, a consensus was reached between the two fisher
groups. The Indian fisher group agreed to reduce accessing Sri Lankan waters
from 130 days a year to 70 days a year but this was not accepted by the
governments, he adds. Nimal Hettiarachchi, director general Department of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR) of Sri Lanka informs that there is a
joint working group with members from both the countries trying to resolve the
conflict.
The joint group was to meet every
six months but the second meeting has not happened in a long time. Some allege
this is because the Indian government has refused to give a date. Some
government officials in Tamil Nadu who do not wish to be named inform that most
of these trawlers are owned by rich people or those with a political clout,
which allows them to operate as they please. “In this situation, where a mafia
like situation exists in Tamil Nadu, the small fishers become the victims,”
says an official. While some of these small fishers go fishing independently,
some are also employed on trawlers. “Owners of these trawlers are the new class
of fishers who have flourished because of mechanization,” says V Vivekanandan,
secretary of the Fisheries Management Resource Centre in Kerala. “The trawler
issue is a complex one and not resolving this is a failure of the Tamil Nadu
state,” he
adds.
Chinese intervention
Interestingly, Sri Lanka has now
allowed foreign (mostly Chinese) vessels to park in its waters and fish. “These
Chinese vessels are big and fitted with modern satellite systems which helps
them track fish much better than the traditional fishers. Also, with their
advanced equipment they are able to catch more fish,” says Kumara. Such
arrangements usually take place under the distant water fishing arrangement
that allows a country to fish in another country’s exclusive economic zone for
money.
But Sri Lanka has reportedly allowed
the Chinese trawlers even beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ); a Chinese
company has entered into an agreement with the Sri Lankan Board of Investment
for this. Under the agreement, 90 per cent of the catch would be exported to
China while the rest will be sold to the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation at US
$1/kg fish. But Kumara says this is not the case. “The Chinese trawlers sell
their catch in the local market and that too at much lower prices than the
local fishers, which further adds to the losses of traditional fisher people.”
Overfishing causing extinction
WFFP fears overfishing. “Overfishing
is set to become a big problem for Sri Lanka in the near future. What’s more is
that rich people are getting most of this fish catch as they are the ones who
have the financial resources to operate high yielding methods unlike the
traditional fisherfolk,” adds Kumara.
Overfishing is causing certain
species of fish to fall under the threatened or extinct category. For instance,
the popular edible fish Kelawalla (yellow-fin tuna) is now a near threatened
species in the country because of overfishing, according to the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Tuna accounts for over 40 per cent of
Sri Lanka’s total fish catch and about 50 per cent of marine fish catch. Last
year in November, Greenpeace also warned of tuna overfishing in the Indian
Ocean and called for monitoring.
The Sri Lankan Ministry of Fisheries
and Aquatic Resources Development (MoFARD) says that population growth in the
country and the lack of alternative income generating opportunities has led to
immense pressure on coastal resources. The fisheries development programme of
the government says that overexploitation of fisheries at the very least means
lower returns and at worst leads to elimination of a biological species. The
ministry says that it is certain kinds of harmful fishing methods that are
responsible for this overfishing problem (see 'Harmful fishing methods').
Hettiarachchi acknowledges that
overfishing is becoming a problem in certain areas. “We know this is an issue
in some places and we are trying to ban certain fishing methods being used
which are harmful. This is mainly because of increased demand from hotels and
restaurants.” But he contradicts himself by saying that the traditional fishing
methods are keeping the fish catch lower than potential in the country. DFAR is
trying to promote fish production and fish export by introducing modern
technology.
Fishing in Sri Lanka is a family
activity by tradition. MoFARD attributes this to low education levels, lack of
alternative livelihoods and high independent income. Fish is also the cheapest
source of protein for people in Sri Lanka. The department is aiming to increase
the per capita consumption of fish from 11kg per person to 22kg per person,
keeping in mind the malnutrition levels in the country. It accounted for 1.8
per cent of GDP in 2012 (SLR 134,967 million). The coastal fish production in
the country stands at 590,766 MT in 2013 according to DFAR, which is more than
an 85 per cent rise from the 2010 levels.
Arjan Rajasuriya of IUCN tries to
put this in perspective, “Thresher shark have almost vanished as have some
other very important species mainly due to an increased demand and wrong
fishing methods. The government needs to give this a serious thought.” The
government is allowing even foreign vessels to fish in its waters, further
aggravating the problem of overfishing. There is a need to provide better
market access and prices to the local fishermen with a view to gradually
improve their socio-economic conditions, he adds.
@sugandh84 
