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SL wants written assurance of ban on bottom trawling, India not ready
View(s):By Damith Wickremasekera
Sri Lanka has sought written assurances from India that its fishermen were moving away from the destructive illegal fishing practice of ‘bottom trawling’ in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters.This assurance must be given if India wants Sri Lanka to consider the return of the poaching Indian vessels already detained here. But the Indian delegation, at recent bi-lateral talks, refused to agree.
Instead, the Indian side said it would put the Sri Lankan proposal to the next Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting scheduled for April 6. The issue came up at last Monday’s JWG meeting in Colombo. The Sri Lankan delegation was led by Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera and the Indian delegation by Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh.
Minister Amaraweera said Sri Lanka was informed that bottom trawling equipment on 87 Indian vessels had been removed and the vessels modified for deep sea fishing. Assurances were given that India’s fishing harbours would no longer issue permits for vessels with bottom trawling equipment. The minister said Sri Lanka had wanted written assurances on a ban on bottom trawling when the JWG met again on April 6. The Indian side declined to give any written assurance but agreed to consider the request during the next round of talks.
Minister Amaraweera said the government, in turn was willing to consider releasing some of the vessels detained, but also wanted an assurance that the same vessels should not return to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has currently detained 142 Indian vessels and is holding 52 Indian fishermen in custody for poaching.
The Sunday Times learns that during the discussions the Indian delegation had given priority to securing the release of the detained fishermen and the vessels. A joint media statement issued after the meeting said India assured Sri Lanka that bottom trawling would be phased out in a gradual time-bound manner within a “ practicable time frame”. This would be done keeping in mind the capacity building of the fishermen who had to be diversified into deep sea fishing and other coastal fisheries activities including mariculture, pearl farming and seaweed culture.
“The Sri Lankan side was briefed about the measures already instituted including the decision to construct a new fishing harbour at Mookaiyur in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, and the capacity building programme for Indian fishermen on deep sea fishing in Chennai and Kochi, ” it said. Following the Ministerial meeting on Monday, a directive was issued by the Sri Lanka Government after consultation with the Attorney General to release 51 Indian fishermen who were custody.
Two days after the high-level JWG meeting, 10 Indian fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy for poaching north of the Delft islet. They were to be released according to an understanding reached at the ministerial meeting. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu’s new Chief Minister O Panneerselvam has written to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to send a firm message to Sri Lanka against continuing arrests of fishermen and secure the release of vessels that were seized while engaging in illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters.