Tensions are growing in fishing communities in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state in India, as talks between Indian officials and Sri Lankan officials about fishing rights have met an impasse.  Last week more than a thousand southern Indian fishing vessels remained in port in protest over the ongoing fisheries rights talks.

India’s central government has warned Indian fishermen to stay clear of Sri Lankan waters and has repeatedly asked Sri Lankan officials to deal humanely with fishermen who have strayed into their waters.

Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu are separated by the Palk Strait which, at its widest, is only 80 miles across and at its closest, only 20. India and Sri Lanka are connected by the AH43 highway which is linked by a ferry connection between the two nations, spanning a distance of only 20 miles between points along Adam’s Bridge (or Rama’s Bridge), a chain of limestone shoals between Pamban Island off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu and Mannar Island off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. The bridge is thought to have once connected the two landmasses.

Indian fishermen have continued to poach in Sri Lankan waters, and more are being arrested by the Sri Lankan navy and handed over to the police. Ovre 100 Indian fishermen are currently in the custody of Sri Lankan police; many of their cases will be heard this week. Family members of those incarcerated have threatened protest if the fishermen are not soon released.

India’s fishermen have proposed an “open water” solution, asking that some areas of the disputed waters be opened to both Sri Lankan and Indian fishing.

Indian fishermen have been warned not to cross the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), but many do in order to poach in the fish-rich waters near the Katchatheevu Island in the north. Ownership of the island itself has been under dispute, as well, from the perspective of Tamil Nadu, whose Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has recently said she hoped that India will soon regain Katchatheevu which was ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974.

Part of Sri Lanka’s resistance ot the open waters plan is that the Indian fishermen have bigger boats and more sophisticated fishing equipment than do Sri Lankan fishermen, thus, Sri Lanka officials contend an open water policy would favor the Indian fishing industry. With both sides sticking to their demands, talks have reached a stale mate.

Fish On!

 

 

Commercial Fishing, fish, Fishing, India, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu

By Sid

---

---