All for a 'good catch'

Recently 136 Indian fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan authorities for having strayed into the Lankan waters. The incident occurred just two weeks after two fisherman had been killed by the Sri Lankan Navy as they reportedly strayed into their territory. The back-to-back incidents have led to widespread agitations in Tamil Nadu. Official records show that more than 400 fishermen from Tamil Nadu have lost their lives during the last two decades in the territorial waters as a bloody civil war raged in Sri Lanka.

The last two killings were taken up seriously by the Indian government and a strong demarche was given to the concerned authorities in the neighbouring country. In the case of the arrest, nevertheless, the diplomatic channels worked faster and the 136 fishermen were allowed to return to India the next day.

What distinguishes this incident is that this time the straying fishermen were caught by the fishermen of Sri Lanka and were handed over to the authorities. Then they were arrested and remanded to custody by a judicial order.

TSI spoke to the fishermen who returned from Sri Lanka after their release. Karnan, a fisherman from Nagappattinam says, “We were surrounded by fishermen from Sri Lanka in the mid sea. They attacked us and confiscated the catch and boats.”

Manokaran, the leader of the fishermen panchayat at Akkaraipettai village in Nagappattinam accepts that it is usual for them to cross the international border while going for a good catch. “The issue has to be resolved by calling for a dialogue and negotiations between the fishermen communities of both sides. If it continues, the livelihood of our fishing community will be badly affected,” he says.

Meanwhile a resolution of not to enter into Sri Lankan waters was passed and accepted  in the meeting of several fishing villages around Nagappatinam. They feel the loss due to arrest and confiscation of catch is not worth straying into their waters and it is a self limiting resolution by the community of the area.

According to reports the fishing communities from both the sides met recently and an agreement was proposed that said that for 77 days in a year fishermen from both the countries may be allowed to fish into each others' territory. But the proposal was not formalised.

It's well known that fishermen cross the IMBL for the prospects of a good catch as the Indian waters do not yield much. When the civil war was on its peak, the fishing communities of both the countries were severely affected. Now this is time to rebuild the lives. So, both the governments need to speed up the process of finding a solution so that the waters remain calm.