With Sri Lanka finally having overcome the EU ban on fishing, the fisheries experts point out that, the time is opportune for the government to effect a complete halt to the destructive practice of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Sri Lankan waters. The country is estimated to lose Rs. 6 billion per annum due to IUU fishing and the resolving of this issue will greatly boost our fish exports and foreign exchange earnings. In 2010, a statement issued by the European Union and USA recognised, Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing to be one of the most serious threats to sustainable fishing and to marine biodiversity in the world’s oceans. Fisheries expert Dr. Steve Creech in the meantime who addressed the forum – India-Sri Lanka relations in the 21st century – organised by the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS), recently chose to highlight the case of Tamil Nadu fishermen in Lankan waters as the best example of IUU fishing. There are complex political and legal drivers that perpetuate IUU fishing by Tamil Nadu trawlers in Sri Lankan and Indian waters, he said. Gaining political mileage over fisheries issue The fishermen issue between the two neighbours across the Palk Straits was not a new one and Dr. Creech noted that caste, Sri Lankan Tamil politics in the Northern Province and Tamil Nationalism especially with regard to the role of Tamil Nadu in support of federalism and Eelam, as reasons for not finding a solution to the problem. The Karaiyar which refers to the fishermen caste are poorly represented in Northern Sri Lankan Tamil Politics. Northern politics is still dominated by the upper Vellala caste who are land owners and educated middle class, he explained. In India, Tamil Nadu was very much depended on using the fishermen issue for political mileage and the Union Government of India in turn was depended on the Tamil Nadu State government for support in the Lok Sabha. In Tamil Nadu they have always garnered popular support by stating that they favoured Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism along with their appeal for Kachchativu, Dr. Creech said. In the 1970s, both the countries agreed on the setting up of a maritime boundary. Things, however, began to change when the ban on fishing in the Northern Seas was lifted by the Sri Lankan authorities with the end of war. Since then, fishermen from both sides have continuously been arrested for trespassing in the others’ territorial waters, jailed and later released following intervention from their respective governments. IUU and the EU ban The EU regulation to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing (2010) stated, Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing depletes fish stocks, destroys marine habitats, distorts competition, put honest fishers at an unfair disadvantage and weakens coastal communities, particularly in developing countries. In Sri Lanka, the economic impact of IUU fishing has been severe. Tamil Nadu Sea Food companies export US$ 41 million worth seafood per annum harvested by Tamil Nadu fishing vessels that are allegedly owned by Tamil Nadu politicians. There are 34 EU registered exporters, they are sold and exported from Tamil Nadu as Product of India’ seafood, Dr. Creech said. The Presidential initiative on combating IUU fishing and seafood fraud 2015 (The United States of America) stated IUU fishing and fraudulent seafood products distort legal markets and unfairly compete with the products of law abiding fishing and seafood industries globally. Dr. Creech explained that the ban was invoked by the EU in October 2014 due to illegal fishing operations by Sri Lankan fishing vessels and the Sri Lankan government’s failure to report on and regulate Sri Lanka’s High Seas fishery in the Indian Ocean. The EU has lifted its ban; Sri Lanka is free to carry out its export of seafood to the European nations without a barrier. It is the right opportunity for the government to put an end to this fisheries issue and bring equal benefits to both Northern and Southern Sri Lankan fishermen, he emphasised. He also opined that it was time Sri Lankan foreign policy considered the Rs 6 billion in revenue that the country lost every year due to illegal fishing and daily degradation of Sri Lanka’s marine resources. Matter of definition When it comes to finding a lasting solution to the problem, Dr. Creech emphasised that it was only by correctly defining the terms of the discourse that Sri Lanka could seek to stop IUU fishing by Tamil Nadu fishing vessels. It is not Indian fishermen or Indian trawlers that engage in illegal fishing; it is the Tamil Nadu fishermen and Tamil Nadu trawlers who are engaged in this. Therefore, defining them precisely is vital when dealing with the problem. Improper defining might make the matters worse, he explained. He said that since 2009, nearly 282,842 IUU fishing trips have been made by Tamil Nadu Trawlers. This takes the number to 40,409 trips every year. There are over 5,000 mechanised trawlers in Tamil Nadu and nearly 2,500 of them enter Sri Lankan waters on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. These vessels are also known to engage to some extent in the smuggling of Kerala ganja, gold, sea cucumber and saris, thus posing a security threat to Sri Lanka. The right application of the law When it comes to the legal aspect of the problem, Dr. Creech alleged that the fishermen were often remanded for violating maritime boundaries under the Immigrants and Emigrants Act of 1948 rather than for illegal fishing. This meant that very little action was taken to enact laws relating to IUU fishing. The Immigrants and Emigrants Act is applied by the Attorney General’s Department disregarding the Foreign Fishing Vessels Act of 1979, which is the most suitable to prosecute the skipper and the boat owners, he said. No Tamil Nadu fishermen are prosecuted for illegal fishing, claimed Dr. Creech. Arrests do not matter, solution bilateral Dr. Creech explained that there was no point in arresting fishermen when they are inevitably released and repatriated immediately. By avoiding the arrest of fishermen, the Sri Lankan government can avoid the problem of having lots of Tamil Nadu fishermen in Sri Lankan custody. Tamil Nadu politicians also take this opportunity to speak about Tamil Nationalism and that in turn becomes a bilateral issue, he said. The solution proposed by Dr. Creech was to release the fishermen and keep the boats. They could then ask the Indian boat owners to come to Sri Lanka to pay a fine to release their boats rather than having humanitarian concerns of keeping Tamil Nadu fishermen in Sri Lankan custody. This is what the Indian state government does when Sri Lankan fishermen get arrested. They charge them under the Maritime Zones Act. The Sri Lankan boat owners have to go to India, pay the fine and get their boats released. In Sri Lanka, the Attorney General’s office charges the fishermen under Emigrant Immigrant Act and that causes bilateral issues, he said. The Maritime Boundary Act International Law Expert, Dr. Nirmala Chandrahasan in the meantime said that illegal fishing had considerable influence on political, economic, societal and environmental security; the most alarming impacts being on political and environmental security. The MoU signed in 1974 clearly states that fishing vessels and fishermen of either country shall not engage in the gulf waters, territorial sea or EEZ of the other without permission, she said. The illegal fishing issue thus demonstrated the encroachment on the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) by fishermen from Sri Lanka and India for fishing even though a Maritime boundary crossing for fishing purposes was prohibited once the Maritime Boundary agreement was enacted. These violations, however, continue to persist in the Palk Straights, Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar by the Tamil Nadu fishermen, she said. According to Dr. Chandrahasan, one of the primary purposes in establishing the EEZ was to clarify the rights of individual nations to control the fish harvests off their shores. The only alternative to Sri Lanka is to have stringent action taken to ban illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters, Dr. Chandrahasan said. Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Y. K. Sinha, however, insisted that the fishing dispute between Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen be viewed from a humanitarian standpoint. The Fisheries Ministry Several high level discussions have taken place between authorities from both Sri Lanka and India over the dispute. Both sides have insisted that they had many areas which they agreed on. Fisheries experts, however, stress that though Indo-Lanka diplomatic relations were good in the broader sense, illegal fishing has been an issue that both states have struggled with to arrive at a holistic decision. Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Ministry Secretary, Mangalika Adikari said the Indian government was not showing adequate concern over the issue. Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Mahinda Amaraweera in the meantime stressed that policy level discussions were being planned to take place between Sri Lanka and Indian governments. Adikari, however, said they would have to check with the Foreign Affairs Ministry for further clarifications before the said discussions are to take place. The trawlers captured by the Sri Lankan Navy will not be released and measures are being taken to conduct more effective inspections with the aim of bringing an end to the issue, Minister Amaraweera said. Adikari assured that the ministry was seriously concerned about the well-being of the fishing community and the betterment of the country. We are looking forward to have holistic discussions with India to reach a solution to the illegal fishing issue, she added. Sri Lanka Navy Media Spokesperson Captain Akram Alavi revealed that at present there were 24 Indian fishermen in custody and 120 fishing trawlers and boats confiscated. This year alone, 32 boats and 177 fishermen were apprehended. We have been arresting fishing boats and the fishermen, but the fishermen were repatriated regularly at regular intervals and in the meantime the trawlers were sent back to the respective fishing authorities in India. Since 2015, the trawlers are not sent back to India, as a result there are 120 boats under our custody, he said. Bottom trawling is prohibited in India as well in Sri Lanka. But, Tamil Nadu fishermen use this method when they fish in our territory. They scoop the whole of the sea bottom, destroying coral reefs, sea reeds and regeneration of fish, Captain Alavi said. The Navy and Coastguard apprehend fishermen along with their boats, fishing nets and equipment and hand them over to the respective fisheries inspector. It is then up to the Fisheries Department to take legal action against them. We have a shore based radar as well as ships and craft installed radars. A fishing trawler illegally crossing the maritime boundary can be easily apprehended. Most of the time we try to send them off from our territory, they are arrested when they venture deep into Sri Lankan territory, Captain Alavi said. He said the Navy began to apprehend the fishing trawlers after 2010 with the end of war. Numbers peaked somewhere in 2012-2013 and the number of trawlers venturing into Sri Lankan waters was on the decline. Ultimately, the removal of the EU ban would have little impact on fish trade if we let IUU fishing destroy the very product we export to these countries.
The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd., 19962016.