In Palk Bay, goodwill slips through fishing nets

[Gibbs]

As long as Tamil Nadu fishermen continue to resort poaching in the Palk Straits, and the Clowns in the TN government continue to blame the Lankan Navy for Ramesvaram fishermen trespassing in Lankan waters, the fish stock will continue to deplete. Clearly, the TN leaders know nothing about fishing, or for that matter, anything at all except for thieving and lying.

Sea wealth depletion drives fishermen into tresspassing


RAMESWARAM: Lost in the outcry over the fishermen issue is the depleting sea wealth. As 850 trawlers based in Rameswaram fish in the narrow and ecologically sensitive Palk Strait, a good amount of marine life is also being destroyed and much of the sea wealth depleted over the period.

Any mechanised fisherman at Rameswaram fishing jetty for the query on trespassing will answer that there is no fish wealth in the region and they have no other option but to cross IMBL for good catch.

But the traditional fishermen, who still use country boats, say the Palk Strait was once very rich with fish wealth and nearly 29 varieties of fish have been lost after trawlers began to fish in the region.

"As youngsters, we remember the fish wealth was abundant in Palk Strait as variety of fishes used to be caught in our nets. Many of the varieties like Velra, Salpakeludhu, Keludhu are extinct in this place, they were big varieties and used to fetch handsome prices," rues S P Rayappan, president of Country Boat Fishermen Association.

The mechanised boats allegedly involve in destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling and pair trawling, the latter is banned by the government. Using this pair trawling method, around 300 trawlers bring

to shore 15 tonnes per boat of marine species including algae, shrimps and small fishes, every trip. They are sold for throw away prices for poultry feed which should be otherwise contributing for the rich flora and fauna of the marine wealth, the traditional fishermen said.

"The crux of the fishermen detention is the sea wealth destruction by the mechanised boats", points out N J Bose, state general secretary of the Mechanised Boat Fishermen Welfare Association in Rameswaram who has been advocating banning the destructive fishing practices for long.

"Our fishermen venture so far to Talaimannar for catch, destroying the sea wealth of Sri Lanka after they have depleted ours," he charged. The recent detentions are due to Sri Lankan fishermen pressurising their authorities to stop Indian fishermen poaching in their waters, he stated. There should be restrictions on bottom trawling as well as it disrupts the sea bottom though it is allowed in the region, he added.

Earlier, they used to catch 50 to 100 kg of fish per trip but now they hardly get 10 to 20 kg after trawlers started ruling the coast, says G Arul from District Country Boat Fishermen Association at Pamban. "Not just the fish varieties, even the number of country boat fishermen is fast depleting due to the destructive fishing. Our numbers have fast dwindled because we don't have sufficient catch to sustain our livelihood and had to switch as workers in mechanised boats", he rues.

Fisheries officials at Rameswaram said the mechanised boat fishermen are involved in destructive fishing practices. "The fact is that the trawling was introduced by the government to improve the catch but the major mistake from fisheries part is the failure to restrict the number of mechanised boats," a fishery official seeking anonymity said. The fisheries department is crippled with lack of manpower and equipments to curb the destructive fishing practices. "We are not even equipped with boats to monitor the mechanised boats", the official lamented.

But the mechanised boat fishermen strongly argue that they are helpless as the lack of catch in the Indian water prompts them to cross the IMBL into Sri Lankan territorial waters.

"It costs nearly Rs 70,000 for a trip including diesel and rations and if we don't bring sufficient catch, we will run out of business. The prices of diesel and fishing gear and every item in that case is rocketing but the price on catch is declining steadily, we need to catch more to survive," said B Jesuraja, district secretary of Tamil Nadu Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association.

Sea wealth depletion drives fishermen into tresspassing - The Times of India