India-Sri Lanka Fishermen Issue

Context

Recently 32 fishermen from Pamban in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of poaching.

About

• The extended dispute over fishing rights round Kachchatheevu Island in Palk Bay has been a source of hysteria among India and Sri Lanka for decades.
• According to the 1974 Indo-Lanka Maritime Agreement, the Indian Government ceded Kachchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka, without consulting the Tamil Nadu government.
• The agreement allowed Indian fishermen “access to Katchatheevu for relaxation, for drying of nests and for the once a year St Anthony’s festival” but it did not ensure the conventional fishing rights.

What is the difficulty?

• The IMBL was born out of a bilateral settlement signed back  in 1974 and 1976 below the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). 
• However, Indian fishermen were crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) by chance and have sometimes been apprehended or confronted unlucky outcomes from the Sri Lankan government.

Why do Indian fishermen go to borders?

• Fishermen from Tamil Nadu declare that they and their ancestors have fished in waters past the IMBL for hundreds of years and generations. 
• Also the depletion of fish shares at the Indian side of the IMBL is one of the prime motivations behind such incursions.

Concerns of Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka asserts that the Indian encroachment is regularly well-coordinated. They categorize fishing via Indian fishers in their waters as “poaching” and keep that the practice ought to jeopardize the national safety of both nations.
• Proliferation of trawlers in Indian coast: Trawlers are mechanized boats with especially exploitative fishing nets unlike most of the poor fishermen on the Sri Lankan coast who use conventional fishing techniques.

Way Ahead

• The ongoing fisheries dispute between India and Sri Lanka is a complicated problem that has the capacity to affect the bilateral dating among the 2 countries. 
• A complete and holistic method, thinking of the concerns of all stakeholders, including the human rights violations of Indian fishermen in Palk Strait, is important to resolve this trouble. 
• By leveraging advanced technologies along with satellite imagery and algorithms, fishing vessels may be as it should be recognized in actual-time, even in far off regions. 
• This will provide treasured insights for the government to apprehend fishing patterns and take the vital measures to hold the region’s security.

Source: The Hindu

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q. ‘India is an age-old friend of Sri Lanka.’ Discuss India’s role in the recent crisis in Sri Lanka in the light of the preceding statement. (2022)

Download as PDF