DEEP-SEA FISHING: A SOLUTION TO INDIA-SRI LANKA FISHING ISSUE?

After   being   elected   for   the   fourth   term   as   Sri   Lanka’s   Prime   Minister,   Ranil Wickremesinghe  chose  India  as  his  first  destination  for  a  foreign  visit.  He  met  the Indian  Prime Minister  Narendra Modi  in Delhi on September 2015; and  among other issues, they discussed fishing dispute between the two countries.

It is well known that Indian fishermen are often arrested and occasionally shot at by Sri Lankan authorities for straying into Sri Lankan waters. The straying of fisher folk is  largely  due  to  ambiguity  of  boundaries  at  sea,  but  more  importantly,  it  indicates  a willful  transgression  by  Indian  fishermen,  leading  from  the  depletion  of  the  marine resource in the Indian side of the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar due to over-exploitation. Notably,  bottom  trawling  by  Indian  fishermen  in  these  relatively  shallow  waters  is  a major cause for significant fall in fish potential of these areas.

Towards amicably settling the disputes, PM Modi remarked that this is essentially a  humanitarian  issue  and  that  fishermen  associations  from  both  sides  may  continue their efforts to find a solution. Furthermore, he encouraged the fishermen to shift their activity from shallower coastal waters to the deep-sea.

Modi’s call to consider the issue as “humanitarian” may have been meant only to mollify  the  hard  stance  being  taken  by  the  Sri  Lankan  authorities  against  the  Tamil fishermen; and since it involves the question of livelihood, to push them to consider the straying of Indian fishermen in a more humane light. Further, although his prodding the fishermen  associations  of  India  and  Sri  Lanka  could  foster  greater bonhomie  between the  two  fishing  communities,  it  may  not  lead  to  a  viable  solution  to  the  dispute. Although a common Tamil identity seems binding, the relations of fishermen between the  two  countries  are  presently  characterized  by  competition.  It  is,  therefore,  unlikely for  the  two  fishing  communities  to  achieve  any  breakthrough  in  what  seems  to  be  a ‘zero-sum’ scenario, without mediation by the government agencies.

Deep- Sea Fishing: ‘Old Wine’

Essentially based on the concern of  sustainability  of  the marine resources, PM  Modi’s third proposal that fishermen be encouraged to undertake deep-sea fishing is along the lines   of   the   recommendations   proposed   by   the   Meenakumari   Committee   (Expert Committee for Comprehensive Review of Deep Sea Fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone)   to   address   the   fast-depleting   marine   resources.   Since   non-compliance   of regenerative fishing principles adversely affect the livelihood of fishermen, there was a need for provisions to make the industry more sustainable. Modi’s call to usher in ‘Blue Revolution’  in  fisheries  sector  came  in  the  wake  of  the  Meenakumari  Report,  whose findings were tabled in August 2014.  The mandate of the Committee was as follows:-

• Review Comprehensive Marine Fishing Policy (CMFP) of 2004.
• Examine status of compliance of regional and global requirement of management and regulation of fisheries.
• Review the existing guidelines for deep-sea fisheries.
• Suggest exploitation potential in EEZ and international waters.

The Meenakumari Committee noted that waters up to 200 m depth are optimally exploited  and  there  is  no  scope  for  expansion  of  fishing  in  the  200-500  m  stretch.  It recommended   transforming   this   stretch   into   a   buffer   zone   encouraging   resource utilization beyond 500 m. However, Indian fishermen currently lack adequate expertise to  exploit  resources  beyond  500  m  depth.  Therefore,  Letter  of  Permission  (LOP)  is required to be granted to foreign vessels to fish in these waters, or for Indian vessels to employ foreign crew, encouraging the concept of ‘capitalist deep-sea fishing’.

Tradition versus Technology

The proposed policy of deep-sea fishing has been initiated several times in the past, but its  implementation  encountered  opposition  from  the  fishing  community.  Even  while deep-sea  fishing  is  meant  to  be  an  overarching  policy  for  transforming  the  fisheries sector, it has major voids because it fails to incorporate the vital interests of the prime stakeholder—the fisherman— into its framework.

The Tamil fishermen of Sri Lanka and India are traditional fishermen who engage in  near-shore  fishing  activities.  Being  a  highly  capital  intensive  method  necessitating advanced  technologies,  the  domestic  capacity  of  traditional  fisher  folk  has  not  been expanded to match the capital and technology intensive deep-sea fishing.

Given  the  inadequate  domestic  capacity  to  harvest  offshore  marine  resources  by traditional  fisher  folk,  deep-sea  fishing  would  invite  foreign  fishing  vessels  and  joint venture operations placing traditional fishers and owners of small motorized boats at a direct disadvantage. The advantages of the deep-sea fishing in the form of subsidies and increased  resource  turnover  may  not  reach  them.  Additionally,  developing  domestic infrastructure  for   industrial   fishing   is   a   time   consuming   process,   challenging   the livelihood  of  the  traditional  fishermen  who  are  in  the  brink  of  being  transformed  as wage earners for ‘capitalist deep-sea fishing’.

Owing  to  the  domestic  infrastructural  inability  to  engage  in  deep-sea  fishing, fishermen  associations  feel  that  there  is  little  or  no  applicability  of  the  provisions  the Committee as a measure to resolve outstanding disputes between India and Sri Lanka. To them, an immediate solution to the problems lie not in deep-sea fishing as conceived in the Meenakumari Report, but possibly by adapting provisions of deep-sea fishing to fishermen needs in terms of developing their capacity and capability.   Augmenting fish production by enabling the traditional fisher folk to effectively imbibe deep-sea fishing techniques and taking steps to hasten capacity building thus becomes essential.

The Way Ahead

Since  1991,  efforts  have  been  made  on  many  occasions  to  undertake  deep-sea  fishing ventures.    However,    they    have    not    been    effective.    The    lax    nature    of    policy implementation  and  lack  of  adequate  technological  capacity  to  engage  in  deep-sea fishing have been the major impediments.

PM Modi’s suggestion on the lines of Meenakumari Committee recommendation is a  step  in  the  right  direction.  However,  it  will  become  an  implementable  solution  only when  the  capabilities  of  the  fisher  folk  are  developed  to  harness  deep-sea  resources rather than resort to ‘capitalist deep-sea fishing’. This can be achieved by adopting a two pronged   approach;   enhancing   their   capability   in   terms   of   training/expertise   and capacity  building  in  terms  of  technology  /  hardware.  The  fishermen—hitherto  used  to traditional  means  of  fishing—  can  be  brought  within  the  ambit  of  the  suggested  way forward  by  adequate  training,  technology  enhancement,  extending  loans  to  procure deep-sea fishing vessels and providing subsidies on fuel.

In  sum,  amidst  reasonable  reservations  placed  on  the  efficacy  of  the  solutions suggested  by  Modi,  with  appropriate  adaptation,  deep-sea  fishing  could  be  a  viable proposition  to  address  fishing  disputes  and  mitigate  problem  of  fisheries  resource depletion in a more sustainable manner.

About the Author 

Ms.  Shereen  Sheriff  is  Research  Associate  at  the  National  Maritime  Foundation (NMF), New Delhi.