Bringing to fruition the efforts of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, representatives of fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka arrived at amicable solutions to the fishing issues after eight hours of deliberations here. The representatives, however, declined to divulge details of the decisions saying they could be made public only after the State and Central governments green light them along with Lanka.
Talking to INN Live, U Arulanandam, one of the representatives from Tamil Nadu and his Sri Lankan counterpart T Sathasivam thanked Jayalalithaa and the Lankan government for organising the meeting. “The talks were held in a very cordial atmosphere... (they) were useful and progressive,” both representatives said. “During the talks, we shared our views without any reservations,” Sathasivam added.
However, Lankan Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne had a different take. He said the meeting began on a stormy note with Lankan fishermen stating that their Indian counterparts should not enter Lankan waters. “Our fishermen told them that if they crossed the International Maritime Boundary Line, our Navy would arrest them,” the minister said.
With the talks deadlocked, a breakthrough was achieved with the Tamil Nadu fishermen offering to stop bottom and double trawling fishing methods for a month. The moratorium, according to sources, starts on February 10. The Indian fishermen sought 14 days time to suspend the methods which the Lankan delegation agreed to.
“They (Indians) proposed that the two sides should re-start talks after a month’s suspension of trawling to find a lasting solution. They agreed that bottom trawling is destructive and promised to adopt other methods and even take to deep sea fishing,” Senaratne said.
Asked if TN fishermen will be allowed to fish across the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) if they eschewed bottom trawling, Senaratne said it could be discussed later. On the same issue, Sathasivam said, “The issues regarding IMBL or the boundaries of both countries should be resolved by all three governments. During today’s talks, we have taken some decisions about fishing.”
Lanka Refuses to Accept 2010 Deal
During the talks, the Indian delegation insisted on the implementation of a 2010 agreement which allows Tamil Nadu fishermen to fish in Sri Lankan waters for 70 days in a year. Lankan fishermen, however, said the agreement was not acceptable.
Agreement Could Pave Way for Joint Fishing in Palk Bay
At a meeting with their Indian counterparts on Monday, Sri Lankan fishermen refused to accept the implementation of a 2010 agreement which allows Tamil Nadu fishermen to fish in Lankan waters for 70 days a year. “At that time, the Lankan fishermen were led by one Herman Kumara who was not representative of our fishermen,” Lankan Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne said.
The minister added that at Monday’s meeting, the Tamil Nadu fishermen agreed to suspend bottom and double trawling for a month beginning February 10. “The two sides endorsed the decisions taken at the meeting of the Fisheries Ministers of Sri Lanka and India at New Delhi on January 15,” the minister said.
The agreement between the ministers and the decisions taken by officials of the two sides later, had thrown open the possibility of joint fishing in the sea between the two countries across the IMBL, though this was not explicitly stated. Perhaps with bottom and double trawling eschewed, fishing by the two sides across the IMBL may be possible, as it has been for ages.
When asked about the issues discussed at the meeting, T Sathasivam, a representative from Tamil Nadu said, “We discussed issues over fishing rights. There are certain prohibitory orders imposed by both TN and Sri Lankan governments. So both governments should together take the final call on our decisions.” His Indian counterpart U Arulanandam said the decisions taken at the meeting could be executed only after all three governments agree to them.
Twelve fishermen from the districts of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram and one from Pondicherry took part in the talks with 10 fishermen from Sri Lanka. On behalf of Lanka, senior officials, including Nimal Hettiarachchi, Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Chennai Sabarullah Khan, Advisor to Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Dr S Subasinghe, Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister K A Jeyapaul, Fisheries Secretary S Vijayakumar, and other top officials were present as TN observers.
No comments:
Post a Comment