With 16 fishermen from Rameswaram held, and their boats seized by the Sri Lankan Navy on October 23, Tamil fishermen in Sri With 16 fishermen from Rameswaram held, and their boats seized by the Sri Lankan Navy on October 23, Tamil fishermen in Sri Lankan waters are in the spotlight again.
On September 3, a Sri Lankan court had imposed a hefty Rs.3.5 crore SLR (about Rs.1 crore INR) fine on 12 Indian fishermen from Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu. The crew was also asked to serve a six-month prison sentence if they failed to pay the fine.
When the news broke, there were calls for action by the Indian government, demands for a permanent solution to the fishermen’s issue, and passive-aggressive statements from the MEA that made references to the genesis of this problem dating back to the 1974 “understanding” between the then Congress-ruled Centre and DMK-ruled Tamil Nadu State government.
“Wicked problem” is a term from the social planning sphere and refers to problems that are so complex and layered that they can have no single easy solution. The India-Sri Lanka fisherfolk issue is a classic example.
Every time fishermen from Tamil Nadu are caught by the Sri Lankan Navy (SLN), passions run high in the southern State. Very often anger supersedes objectivity and creates challenges to an honest dialogue. Moreover, the presence of multiple stakeholders, with competing claims on rights, sovereignty, and political agendas complicate what is essentially a socio-economic and ecological problem. Popular opinion neither captures the human side of the issue nor does it begin to address the ecological dimension at stake.
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Three questions are pertinent to this issue: Why harping on the claim of traditional fishing rights is likely to be a dead end; what pushes fishers into Sri Lankan waters or to take up unsustainable fishing practices; and, finally, why the ecological aspects of the crisis cannot be overstated.
The claim of ‘traditional fishing rights’
Indian fishermen often claim traditional and historic fishing rights over the contested Palk Bay region. The problem is that such rights are often complex and there is a lack of clarity about the way of ascertainment as well as about their recognition by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In fact, even UNCLOS, a comprehensive international convention, falls short. Article 51, Part IV of UNCLOS insists that “archipelagic states” should value traditional fishing rights in historic waters in their regions and cooperate with neighbouring states. But it is unclear whether the same principle can apply to a country like India which is a “coastal, continental state” and not an “archipelagic state”.
This lack of clarity in UNCLOS, which came into force in 1994, is problematic because the 1974 and 1976 bilateral maritime boundary agreements between India and Sri Lanka did not satisfactorily address the concerns of “traditional fishing rights” between the neighbours either.
Article 6 of the 1974 agreement says: “The vessels of India and Sri Lanka will enjoy, in each other’s waters, such rights as they have traditionally enjoyed therein,” but does not explicitly mention “fishing rights”, which opens it up for individual interpretations. And, Article 5 of the same agreement says that Indian fishermen and pilgrims can visit Katchatheevu island (which is on the Sri Lankan side of the boundary) as before and they will not be required by Sri Lanka to obtain travel documents or visas.
Fishermen, who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy, on their arrival, at the Chennai Airport, on October 15, 2024. Sri Lanka later released them. | Photo Credit: PTI
Now, the Sri Lankan government’s reading of articles 5 and 6 is that the articles do not confer any fishing rights on Indian fishermen or vessels to engage in fishing in Sri Lankan waters and that the rights of access of Indian fishermen and pilgrims visiting Katchatheevu are restricted to attending the annual feast at St. Anthony’s church and drying their nets and catch on the island.
When Tamil Nadu raised concerns about this in 1974, the then External Affairs Minister (EAM), Swaran Singh, said: “the traditional fishing rights of (Indian) fishermen and pilgrims to visit the (Katchatheevu) island remain unaffected.” Despite his assurance, between 1974 to 1976, Indian fishermen were regularly arrested and their boats confiscated by the SLN for having “trespassed” in Sri Lankan waters.
Meanwhile, another maritime agreement signed between India and Sri Lanka recognised the waters of Wadge Bank, near Cape Comorin, as Indian territory. The Indian Foreign Secretary wrote to his Lankan counterpart about Wadge Bank: “… the fishing vessels and fishermen of India shall not engage in fishing in the historic waters, the territorial sea, and the exclusive economic zone of Sri Lanka...” This blatantly contradicted the assurance provided by the Indian EAM two years earlier on the unchanged status of traditional fishing rights of Indian fishers.
All this points to the unfortunate reality that, irrespective of India’s Union government admitting to its historic follies, any “traditional rights” claimed by Indian fishers can be truly realised only when Sri Lanka chooses to recognise it, and there is no incentive for the island nation to do so.
The socio-economic reality of Tamil Nadu fishermen
India is the third largest producer of fish in the world and occupies the second position in aquaculture production. Tamil Nadu, with its 13 coastal districts, with 422 fishing villages, 375 landing centres, and 75,721 households with over a million fishers, ranked third in total marine fish production in the country during 2017-18.
In spite of the fact that the contribution of fisheries to the GDP is 1 per cent and the share of fisheries in agricultural GDP is 5 per cent, most people in the fishing community live in poverty. They are economically backward and have no permanent or regular income. A case study by economists (Dr. A. Asok, R. Saranya et al, 2016) on the income and expenditure pattern of fishermen in Veerapandianpattinam, a fishing centre in Tuticorin district, showed the extent of their economic predicament.
Family members of arrested country boat fishermen at the collectorate in Ramanathapuram on October 24. | Photo Credit: L. Balachandar
According to the study, around 74 per cent of fishers claimed it is their hereditary occupation, while 4 per cent say they are in it because they do not know any other work, while 22 per cent said they do it because it is profitable. This implies more than three-fourth of the community might not have necessarily chosen this profession but are in it as they are unable to find alternative livelihoods. The data also hints that the fisheries sector of Tamil Nadu needs to evolve newer strategies and expand its scope to accommodate the burgeoning fishing community.
The economic hardship of the community is visible from income data, with 14 per cent of the respondents reporting an annual income of less than Rs.24,000 while 50 per cent made Rs. 50,000 or less. Only 6 per cent made more than Rs. 1,00,000 annually. Expenses on food, fuel and lighting took up more than 50 per cent of their total income and a meagre 7 per cent of the total expenditure went towards education.
Under such circumstances, fishing households often borrow money, with the majority of loans taken from moneylenders at high interest rates. The survey found that indebtedness in fishing households of Veerapandianpattinam was 100 per cent, meaning all households were in debt. Besides Tuticorin, the fishing districts of Ramanathapuram and Pudukkottai too have limited economic development, making the fishing industry by far the most common livelihood for people living there. These two are among the poorest districts in Tamil Nadu.
Against this background, one can see how fishers are pushed into trawl fishing, which is ecologically unsustainable but promises higher returns, or why they risk arrest by venturing into Sri Lankan waters for a bigger catch.
The ecological aspect
The Palk Bay region, through which the IMBL runs, is a 15,000 sq km biodiverse region. It hosts more than 580 species of fish, 300 species of marine algae, 11 species of seagrass, five species of turtles, and a rich variety of mangroves. The area is also a breeding ground for a wide variety of finfish and shellfish while dolphins and porpoises are numerous. A variety of fishing systems have been practised in these waters, ranging from one-man boats to mechanised fish-harvesting systems and, the most destructive of all, trawling boats.
Trawling is an industrial method of fishing that involves dragging fishing nets through the water using boats. Trawl nets are shaped like a cone or funnel with a wide opening for the catch and they can be used at various depths.
While trawling was originally intended to catch targeted resources such as shrimp, intensive trawling lacks selectivity and ends up overfishing or catching everything, including bycatches of juvenile fish and eggs, all of which deeply impact the breeding cycle. Indian white prawn, cuttlefish and sea cucumber are now endangered because of trawling. Besides depleting precious biodiversity resources, trawling mutilates the entire seabed morphology by indiscriminately destroying coral reefs and affecting the growth of seagrass, both of which are important habitats for fish.
In 2012, the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Coastal and Marine Protected Areas (CMPA) initiative, an Indo-German biodiversity programme, studied the Palk Bay region. The CMPA report published in 2014 observed that the region with its fragile resources is productive enough to support largely subsistence-oriented fishing and other harvesting operations but remains extremely sensitive to any major change in utilisation pattern, such as trawl fishing.
Sea ranching of green tiger shrimp being carried out by officials of ICAR - Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Mandapam Regional Centre at Puthukudi, Thondi (Palk Bay) in September 2022. | Photo Credit: The Hindu
An alarming detail of the study was that the steady increase in the total landings of fish catch over the years in Palk Bay was not because the ecosystem simply started producing more commercially viable fish, but due to “fishing down the food web,” that is, apex predators are fished out, which in turn allows economically less important prey species to proliferate. Fishing communities across villages in the Palk Bay region admit that the catches of commercially important species have declined. The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute also estimates that 60 per cent of the commercially important varieties of fish are overfished in Tamil Nadu.
Trawl fishing is also responsible for up to half of all discarded fish and marine life worldwide, including fish, turtles, seabirds, marine mammals, and other animals. The heavy nets used in bottom trawling are so damaging that when dragged across the seafloor they stir up plumes of sediment underwater that are so huge they are visible from space.
To put it in a nutshell, trawling is the prime culprit that is putting a huge strain on fishery resources, which then forces fishermen to move to other fish-rich waters, leading to inter-water disputes, as is the case between fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka in the Palk Bay.
With climate change already putting pressure on marine ecosystems across the tropics, such exploitative and unsustainable fishing practices can lead to several unintended consequences. Ecologists warn that pushing the Palk Bay region beyond its carrying capacity might inevitably cause the collapse of the entire marine ecosystem within our lifetime. And when that happens, besides the loss of biodiversity, we will be faced with a massive humanitarian crisis.
The way forward
The resolution for this crisis involves a multidimensional yet meticulous approach, and a lot of patience from all stakeholders. The “Tin Bigha issue” between India and Bangladesh and its eventual peaceful resolution can inspire a win-win solution for India and Sri Lanka as well. While India has sovereignty over Tin Bigha, Bangladesh was given access to it in perpetuity as long as it uses it for civilian purposes. A similar template can be framed for resolving the Katchatheevu island issue also.
A few aspects must be addressed. First, the public needs to understand that fishermen are not just being blindly passionate about fishing; their outbursts are rather the result of being doomed into a multi-generational socio-economic trap with no light at the end of the tunnel.
Second, politicians should be called out every time they weaponise the fisherfolk issue to get political attention or votes.
Third, governments at the Centre and the State must look for sustainable alternative livelihoods for fishers, and there are many success stories around the world to emulate. China, Japan and South Korea are world leaders in seaweed farming, and in India the National Fisheries Development Board is trying to encourage the cultivation of the seaweed Kappaphycus, native to the Andaman Sea. It is rich in antioxidants and is also used in the manufacture of toothpaste, dairy products and jellies.
There are other useful avenues to explore. Spain, South Korea, New Zealand and Russia are at the forefront of deep-sea fishing but in India it is yet to take off despite policies and subsidies being in place. Aquaculture or controlled cultivation of aquatic organisms is an excellent alternative to open sea fishing. While India is already the world leader in this, it has not reached its full potential.
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India’s contribution to the international ornamental fish trade is negligible and there is scope to increase the production of ornamental fish varieties in India in coming years. Ecotourism and coastal transportation services are other alternatives that could be explored. The government could also buy back trawlers for an appropriate amount and provide technical and systemic support to fishers so that they have the choice to invest that money in sustainable alternative livelihoods.
Finally, using modern precision technologies like data sciences and remote sensing can help identify fishing zones and their movement patterns in the ocean. Emerging tech firms have already developed apps for fishermen that provide information on weather, maritime borders, fishing zones, and nearest ports. They even connect the fisherfolk directly to fish buyers, helping them get better margins and faster payments. Leveraging technology can solve the problem of indiscriminate destructive fishing while also potentially addressing the socio-economic pressure on the community.
Any of these measures will go a long way towards ensuring the dignified sustenance of fisherfolk while conserving an already overexploited marine ecology. To paraphrase Gandhi, an ecosystem can provide for everybody’s need but not for their greed.
Santhanam is a Chennai-based educator and researcher with expertise in history, science, and world affairs. He is a frequent panellist in television debates on geopolitical issues.
