Fishing in troubled waters

Tuesday, 19 February 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reports that Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen could have clashed out at sea is the latest in a long and simmering dispute on territorial waters that encompasses all the tenuous relations of political affiliations and livelihoods. Such potentially contentious issues need to be handled with care and require prompt assistance from the highest of authorities.

The standoff, which is reported to have taken place in the seas off Kalpitiya, was related by Kalpitiya Fishing Trawlers Association Chairman Anton Rex. According to him, fishermen who sailed from Kalpitiya had radioed back that they had come under attack allegedly from a group of Indian fishermen within Sri Lankan waters in the early hours of Sunday.

The statement from Rex insisted that the attack had involved weapons with significant harm being caused to one of the Sri Lankan trawlers. His allegations have not yet been verified by any official source, yet the Navy spokesman was quoted saying that they had received notice of the clash but had reached the place too late to see any violence. He had also opined that the issue had been settled amicably and the fishermen of the two nationalities had returned to their respective countries without serious injury.

The danger of this situation is of course that such an event can be repeated. Next time the results could be more serious and given the long and sometimes tension ridden history between the two sides on the problem of respecting territorial waters, urgent attention is needed. In the first instance, authorities need to determine what took place. Speaking to the fishermen is the first step, but a more official inquiry would require diplomatic engagement with Indian counterparts.

India and Sri Lanka have held discussions on this issue before and even established a communication mechanism and frameworks to speedily repatriate persons and boats when fishermen are found in the waters of their neighbour. Yet the possibility of dealing with deep sea clashes is possibly one that needs renewed attention, given that one incident could easily result in escalation.

Given the large number of boats and the difficulty in tracking them, it is almost impossible to effectively police the waters between the two countries. This means that even diplomatic interventions would be limited at best. Thus finding a way to avoid clashes that could harm life and property becomes even more challenging.

Fishing is the livelihood of thousands and preserving the fishing riches of the seas is also another dimension of this tussle. As much as people concentrate on earning money the sustainability of what they are doing must also be taken into consideration. Sri Lanka has already received a ‘yellow card’ from the European Union for environmentally unfriendly fishing and many regions along India’s coastline are also being fished out.

Since both countries have limited resources, grappling with this sector is understandably problematic. Engagement on all levels is time-consuming, expensive and often yields limited results. However, it is the best solution that can be had under the present circumstances. It is the only option to prevent violence and preserve the diplomatic relations of two old allies.