Frustrated northern fisherfolk lost at sea

Critics point out that when trawlers are used in fishing they damage sea resources and deny the livelihood of those engaged in traditional fishing  

Despite the civil war ending in 2009 the issues related to the northern fisherfolk underscore that the Tamil community remains harassed and marginalised.   

Recently we read in newspapers that northern fisherfolk have expressed their concerns over ‘privately run aquatic seafood farms coming up close to the northern islands to farm sea cucumbers and prawns’. However the problems associated with the northern fisherfolk go deeper than sea cucumber and prawn farming. Their biggest issue is migratory fishermen poaching in their waters. These poachers are involved in mega scale fishing and the trawlers they use damage sea resources and deny the livelihood of those engaged in traditional fishing and using fishing gear that’s permitted by the law.

   
The government authorities want to show that life in the north is returning to normalcy after the civil war and that the north will be provided with equal opportunities just like in the south. But the fishing issue also exposed the fact that the north resembles a piece of cake from which the ambitious ones want to cut a chunk off.   

N.B. Subramanium, the Secretary of the Northern Province Fishermen’s Collective, told a leading Sinhala weekend newspaper (in 2018) that regardless whether the fishermen who come to the north are from Southern Sri Lanka or South India they will be classified as ‘migrant fishermen’. The word ‘migrant’ gives a negative feeling. It denotes the phrase ‘not proper’ or ‘without authorisation’. Immigrant is a much nicer word; meaning authorised or possessing documents. Another local fishing authority official Rathnasingham Muralitharan of the Jaffna Fisheries Association was once quoted in the Ravaya newspaper saying that the presence of migrant fishermen in the northern seas has caused enough problems to the Jaffna fishermen.   

Sri Lanka is a tiny island which might see its economy and natural resources being destroyed if the rulers become too greedy and start spending on mega projects which give little economic return. Also the big thinking of local politicians and the overcrowding of fishing vessels in the mentioned waters go on to underscore a vital fact that some of the most ambitious activities that are proposed might be unbearable

The northern fishing issue also highlights a fact about territory. Though the rulers of this regime affirm that the country was liberated from the terrorists and anybody can go and live anywhere it’s not so. There is a term used in villages which states ‘be aware of the outsider’. Anyone coming from another province and settling down in another town will have to encounter some resistance or animosity. This thinking could be worse in Jaffna; especially with the presence of the caste system.   

On the other hand a fishing community wouldn’t wait mum if their resources are destroyed by outsiders. Just imagine what villagers in Awissawella or Belihuloya would do if visitors bathed in their rivers and polluted them in the process of using them. Perhaps such indisciplined citizens would be manhandled and chased away.   

Human greed and political clout are unseen forces that fuel this problematic issue in the fishing industry. Before that, in the 1970s, there was coexistence between the northern fishermen and fisherfolk from Tamil Nadu who fished in the same manner. Afterwards the Sri Lankan and the Indian Government signed the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) agreements in 1974 and 1976. Years latter Tamil Nadu fishermen changed their mode of fishing and used steel hulled fishing vessels and engaged in bottom-trawling, according to an article published in cimsee.org.   

Sri Lanka is a tiny island which might see its economy and natural resources being destroyed if the rulers become too greedy and start spending on mega projects which give little economic return. Also the big thinking of local politicians and the overcrowding of fishing vessels in the mentioned waters go on to underscore a vital fact that some of the most ambitious activities that are proposed might be unbearable for little Sri Lanka. Some of these mega projects might even destroy the environment. When the illegal activities of migrant fishermen were too much to bear and happening frequently the Jaffna fishermen also took to the using of illegal fishing nets just to stay afloat in the troubled waters and earn a living, newspaper reports reveal.   

The Indian fishermen stepping into Sri Lankan waters grabbed international attention when the state authorities of both countries with the help of security forces arrested fishermen who were engaged in poaching. The Tamil Guardian reported on 30/10/2020 that EPDP Leader and Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda expressed happiness about Tamil Nadu fishermen who poached in Sri Lankan waters being beaten up by Sri Lanka Navy personnel. Devananda’s comments had annoyed the fishermen of Rameswaran and Tamil Nadu. Incidents like these show how hot the Northern fishing issue is. For the record there have been occasions when Sri Lankan fishermen straying into the Indian waters too have been subjected to physical abuse.   

We also witnessed a point to highlight last December when massive protests were carried out in Mullaitivu where protesters demanded an end to the encroachment of the Sri Lankan sea by Indian trawler boats. Businesses in the area were closed during the protests and a petition was handed over by the Fisheries Association to the District Government Officer in this regard.   

The northern fishing issue also makes us think that the northern Tamils who engage in fishing also are vulnerable to the actions of those who walk on the corridors of power just like the Tamils employed in the estate sector. The only little consolation these Northern Tamil fisherfolk have is that they can team up with their Sinhalese brothers, also involved in traditional small scale fishing, because both these groups are at the receiving end due to the activities of ambitious fishermen who use trawlers and illegal fishing methods to rule the roost.   

When one sees beyond the present Tamil fishermen’s issue what surfaces is the message that the big and the powerful are still controlling the small and the vulnerable.