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Fishing crisis: Lanka may resort to tit-for-tat
Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Ministry has proposed tit-for-tat measures against Indian fishermen arrested for poaching in Sri Lankan waters after Indian courts began fining Sri Lankan fishermen arrested by the Indian Coast Guard and produced them in courts by the local police.Thirty-three (33) Sri Lankan fishermen produced before the judicial magistrate at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh were fined Indian Rs. 25,000 (SL. Rs. 54,000) each and Indian Rs. 60,000 (SL Rs. 130,000) each for the eight trawlers that were in their possession.
They had been in Indian remand custody since May 2 – more than two months. On Friday, the Mannar magistrate released without fines 37 Indian fishermen arrested for poaching in Sri Lankan waters.Fisheries Ministry Secretary Dr. B.M.R.B. Dissanayake told the Sunday Times that the proposal was made to the Attorney General after it was reported that Sri Lankan fishermen arrested on allegation of poaching in Indian waters, except in Tamil Nadu, were released only after paying heavy fines.
“Following consultations with the Minister of Fisheries, we have proposed that Sri Lanka adopts a similar measure when Indian fishermen are released,” he said.
The secretary said that at present Sri Lanka released Indian fishermen almost immediately after their arrest and detained only their boats.The issue of poaching, arrests of fishermen and their vessels figured high during the talks between External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi on Friday.
Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told journalists that Ms. Swaraj had thanked Sri Lanka for adopting a ‘fast track’ approach towards the repatriation of Indian fishermen.The Sri Lanka Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said the two ministers discussed the importance of a “lasting solution” to the problem of fishermen crossing each other’s waters.
It said the Sri Lankan Minister referred to the livelihood of northern fishermen and the irreparable damage caused to the seabed and ocean floor due to the illegal fishing methods being adopted (by Indian fishermen).