Fishing for a lasting solution

Sri Lanka and India will hold a third round of ministerial-level talks on the fishermen issue in Colombo tomorrow after fresh rounds of talks were held in November last year and again in January this year. Officials are positive that progress is being made on the issue but fisher folk in both the north of Sri Lanka and the South of India are growing restless as tension grow.

At the first round of ministerial level talks held in November last year in New Delhi, the two sides agreed for a Joint Working Group on Fisheries to meet every three months and a meeting between the Ministers for Fisheries every six.

The Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in India, Minister Radha Mohan Singh will lead the Indian delegation at the meeting while Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, other Ministry officials and several provincial ministers in charge of fishing subjects will be participating in the discussion representing Sri Lanka. Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran will also be a member of the Sri Lankan delegation. Minister Amaraweera, meanwhile, will hold talks with the fishing communities in the north prior to the talks with the Indian delegation.

The Sri Lanka Navy has also been the subject of several accusations from the Tamil Nadu fishermen, who claim that one of their own had been shot by the Navy. With the Navy denying any involvement in the shootings, the Tamil Nadu communities have now demanded the expulsion of the Sri Lankan High Commissioner over the matter.

In the meantime, the Navy handed over 38 Tamil Nadu poachers, who were in custody for illegally fishing in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, to Indian Coast Guards this week. This marked the fourth prisoner release of Indian fishermen by the Navy this year, according to the Navy Spokesman. The Navy has been given strict directives to arrest any who illegally cross the international maritime boundary; these fishermen are no longer kept in custody for long although their fishing equipment and vessels are confiscated.

However, one of the things said to be discussed at the talks this week will be the release of Indian fishing trawlers which is a contentious issue amongst the fishing communities of the north of the island. Fishing associations are torn on the issue with some stating that the vessels should only be released under strict prohibitions.

These fresh talks with India have proved fruitful so far, according to officials at the Fisheries Ministry, with Indian officials agreeing to phase out bottom trawling in the Palk Strait by way of adopting substitute fishing methods. The talks on Friday are said to reinforce the two countries’ commitment towards finding a lasting solution to this problem with the two parties deciding to intensify cooperation on patrolling and setting up a hotline between the coastguards of the two countries.

However, this deeply controversial issue which has, at times, strained the relations between the two countries, rests greatly on the shoulders of these delegations. As fishermen in Tamil Nadu refuse to give up bottom trawling and maintain that they must encroach into Lankan waters to make ends meet, the two nations attempt yet again to bring the issue to an amicable end. Signs of goodwill between the two countries, such as the release of fishermen, have been happening for years but will only go so far in solving an issue that affects thousands. It is now up to the two governments to find a lasting solution and, harder still, convince stakeholders to abide by the parameters of these agreements.