When they set out to sea they know that they will be fishing in troubled waters, literally. But it is a Hobson’s choice for them. The International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) is the divider between loss of livelihood and imprisonment in Sri Lanka for about 3,500 who head towards the east in the Palk Bay from the Rameswaram fishing jetty.
If they trespass into the Sri Lankan waters, they are harassed and arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy. What follows, for many of them, is a prolonged stay in the island nation’s prison. Every time the fishermen get arrested, they claim that they were fishing near Katchatheevu in the Indian waters. This is far from the truth as the inviting prawn population forces them to violate the IMBL and get deep into Sri Lankan waters, by their own account.
“We get arrested after trespassing into Lankan waters,” says A Irudhayaraj (45), who is engaged in fishing in the Palk Bay for about 25 years. Their vocation has become a nightmare ever since Sea Tigers, the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), vanished after the Sri Lankan forces defeated the militant group in 2009, he says.
Why can’t they avoid straying into Lankan waters as they face the danger of losing their boats besides getting arrested? “We have no option but to take the risk,” says P Sesu Raja, leader of a fishermen association. The first three nautical miles (NM) from the jetty are meant for country boats and the next five are rocky. They are left with four NM before the IMBL and the space is too small for 2,500 trawlers from Ramanathapuram and Pudukottai district, he explains.
After the Lankan Navy started to impound their vessels, the fishermen changed their strategy and began trespassing only after dusk. Setting out in the morning, they reach the IMBL in two hours and float in Indian waters till evening. After dusk, they sail into the Lankan waters in hundreds of trawlers, braving the presence of the Sri Lankan Navy. As the Navy rounds up a maximum of three trawlers at a time, they are willing to take the risk, say the fishermen.
As it takes about two hours for one ‘paadu’ (laying the net and collecting the catch), they spend a maximum of four to six hours in the Sri Lankan waters before getting back.
The Lankan Navy personnel flash lights, signalling them to move away and when the fishermen do not respond stones, rock shells and empty liquor bottles are hurled at them to chase them away.
The fishermen lie down in the bottom of the boat to escape. Some fishermen cut the net worth Rs. 60,000, which they retrieve later, and return in a hurry. Those who cannot make a swift move are arrested. After a chase, the Navymen come close to the fishing trawler, jump into it and ask the fishermen to slow down at gun point. The Navy has never opened fire, say a cross section of fishermen. Some fishermen suffer injuries in stone pelting, but they do not lodge a complaint with police or the Fisheries department as they would be questioned about their location in the sea.
Matter of life and death
They spend about 30 hours on high seas before returning to the shore. “It’s life and death every time we set out,” says Irudhayaraj. Fisheries department officials and the Mandapam Station of Indian Coast Guard advise them not to cross the IMBL. But for the fishermen, there is no option.
