Sri Lanka and India have started a series of bilateral meetings to solve a maritime dispute over fishing rights and poaching along the Palk Strait.
The talks come amid tensions from on-going arrests of fishermen in those waters off Tamil Nadu.
A third round of negotiations will take place in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa told the state assembly February 3rd, The Hindu reported. The first two rounds were in New Delhi on January 15th and Chennai on January 27th.
Despite the talks, Sri Lanka arrested another 19 Indian fishermen February 2nd in an area of the strait that lies in Sri Lankan territorial waters and seized their boats.
“It is a matter of concern that even after the talks, the Sri Lankan Navy arrests Indian fishermen,” Jayalalithaa said, according to The Hindu.
At the last round of talks, the Indo-Lanka Joint Fisheries Committee agreed to a one-month ban starting February 10th on trawling methods and gear that are not conducive to sustaining resources. Sri Lanka and several Indian states have already banned these methods.
At the first meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Sri Lankan Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne, Senaratne said those fishing methods damaged Sri Lanka’s territorial sea floor.
“India agreed to encourage its fishermen to look for deep-sea fishing instead of fishing in the narrow sea between the two countries,” Senaratne told Khabar South Asia after that meeting. “We will meet regularly to address this problem in a spirit of partnership.
“We now look to a permanent solution, and to develop the fisheries sector in Sri Lanka with the help of Indian assistance,” he said, adding that the two sides were planning development of eco-friendly fisheries in the Palk Strait.
‘Fishing is our livelihood’
Sri Lankan fisherman Kanapathipillay Nagendran, from Valvettithurai on the Jaffna peninsula, said his net was damaged because of bottom-trawling by his South Indian counterparts when he set sail in December.
“Fishing is our livelihood. There are thousands of Indian fishermen intruding into our sea,” Nagendran told Khabar. “Therefore our daily catch has been limited. Likewise, our nets were damaged. Now, we believe the situation will settle with the intervention of the two governments at the top level. We are looking forward to a permanent solution.”