In an effort to curb poaching in Sri Lankan waters and prevent clashes with Sri Lankan fishermen and the Sri Lankan security forces, Indian fishermen have suggested that the central and state governments "buy off" trawlers from them and provide them an alternative livelihood.

With a lesser number of trawlers in the scene, the pressure on the Palk Bay and Palk Strait will be relieved to a great extent, and the tendency to venture into Sri Lankan waters for fresher pastures, will be automatically curbed, says Dr. B. Subramanian, Executive (Coastal Resources Management) at the South Indian Federation of Fishermen’s Societies in Trivandrum.

Speaking to Hindustan Times in Colombo on Tuesday, after talks with Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen of Mannar and Jaffna, Subramanian suggested that some of the Tamil Nadu fishermen could also be encouraged to take to deep sea fishing and exploit the vast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

"If these two suggestions are implemented, the problem in Palk Bay and Palk Strait will be reduced by 50 to 70%," he said.

For the past 20 years, hundreds of trawlers and thousands of small craft from the Ramanathapuram and Nagapattinam coastlines in Tamil Nadu have fished for prawns in the narrow and shallow sea between Tamil Nadu and North Sri Lanka.

Prawn fishing had caught on after Tiger prawns began to fetch high prices in the international market in the 1980s and 1990s.

In their search for Tiger prawns, the Tamil Nadu fishermen had been encroaching on Sri Lankan waters off the Mannar and Jaffna coastlines even though they get arrested, beaten up or shot at by the Sri Lankan Navy.

According to Uvani Fernando Arulanandam, President of the Alliance for the Release of Innocent Fishermen (ARIF), based in Pamban in Rameswaram, 116 Tamil Nadu fishermen were killed and 242 wounded in naval firing from August 1983 to date. The fishermen had also lost boats and nets worth millions of rupees, he said.

Just a day or two ago, twenty Indian fishermen in five boats were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy off Talaimannar.

Of late, the Indian fishermen have been clashing with Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen also, creating bad blood between two communities which had lived and fished in this area in harmony, for centuries.

The Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen had, for the last twenty years, been prevented from venturing far into sea by the Sri Lankan Navy as it was fighting the Tamil militants who were smuggling in supplies by boat. Now, because of the ceasefire, these fishermen are allowed to fish.

But when they do go out into the sea, they find their waters heavily encroached by Indian fishermen, who also indulge in "over" and "destructive" fishing.

"Indian trawlers use destructive fishing gear like trawl net, pair trawl, roller madi and chank madi, which scrape the bottom of the sea. It is called active fishing, as the trawler keeps moving," Subramanian said.

"Smaller craft indulge in the less destructive passive fishing. In this, the net is placed like a wall in the sea and it remains stationery, trapping only those fish which venture into it. The fisherman places the net and goes off to sleep!" he said.

Subramanian and Arulanandam said that they were very keen on ending the problem of poaching and destructive fishing in the Palk Bay and Palk Strait and that they understood the anxieties and needs of the Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen.

"From our interaction with the fishermen of Mannar and Jaffna, it is clear that they are not against small craft coming to fish in their waters, and are ready to share the marine resources with us. What they are against is the intrusion of trawlers which indulge in over and destructive fishing," Arulanandam said.

"The fishermen of Mannar, Jaffna and Vadamarachchi have decided not to deploy trawlers near their coastlines from December 31 onwards. As they are disciplining themselves, it is only right and proper that we should discipline ourselves and put similar curbs on trawler fishing," he added.

"This is why we suggested to the Tamil Nadu government in July this year, that the authorities buy off the trawlers, and provide the 300,000 fishermen from the Nagapattinam - Ramanathapuram coastline, alternative employment or other sources of income," Arulanandam said.

"The Tamil Nadu Government, including Chief Minister Jayalalitha, appreciated our suggestion. We are waiting for further action," he added.