New dawn in the Palk Bay - Alliance for the Release of Innocent Fishermen

By V VIVEKANANDAN

I would like to share with you an initiative that I am currently pre-occupied with. It is the forthcoming dialogue between Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen. This dialogue, if successful, could provide useful ideas for resolving the long standing problem of trans-border fishing in the Palk Bay.

One of the many hats I wear is that of the Convener of ARIF (Alliance for Release of Innocent Fishermen). ARIF started life in 1997 as a network of Central Trade Unions, some NGOs and some Tamil Nadu fishermen associations, with SIFFS as the secretariat. Its main objective is to find a solution to the problems associated with trans-border fishing on the Indo-Sri Lankan maritime boundary. The term “innocent” only means that we have sympathy for all fishermen who are not guilty of any offence other than fishing across borders!

Very soon after getting involved, I realised it was essentially a fisheries management problem, obscured by the civil war and the geo-politics associated with it. This also meant that a solution was difficult as long as there was a civil war. ARIF therefore settled down to the rather tedious job of providing assistance to virtually every fisherman arrested for crossing borders in both countries. Jail visits, buying cigarettes, lungis, etc., was one routine set of activities. Following up cases in the courts was another. Lobbying with the various Govt offices to withdraw the case and release fishermen was probably the most important part of the work. We built up linkages in Sri Lanka to help us get the Indian fishermen and boats released. Often Governments on both sides were happy to release fishermen into our custody till they could be repatriated. However, our reach was limited and did not include Sri Lankan fishermen arrested in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa or the Andamans.

An opportunity to find a solution came up in 2004 when there was truce between the Govt of Sri Lanka and the LTTE and the peace talks brokered by Norway. With Sri Lankan fishermen of the Northern Province starting normal fishing, the nature of the conflict changed from that of Indian fishermen vs. the Sri Lankan Navy to that of Indian fishermen vs. Sri Lankan fishermen. With both sides having a common language and long history of close contacts (and marriage links), the idea for a dialogue between the fishermen on both sides of the Palk Bay was mooted by Tamil political leaders on the Sri Lankan side.

This resulted in a “Goodwill Mission” by a 21-member fishermen team, including myself, visiting Sri Lanka in May 2004 and conducting a dialogue with Sri Lankan fishermen in Colombo. Though an interesting agreement came out of the meeting, it could not bear fruit due to many difficulties. The tsunami and the revival of the civil war put an end to that episode.

With the end of the civil war in May 2009, the fishermen vs. fishermen scenario resumed. So, the idea of resuming the fishermen to fishermen dialogue has come up again. Though we had started planning for this in October 2009 itself, it is only now that our efforts have become successful.

It appears that this initiative has not come a day too soon. Last month, two Indian trawlers were sunk by irate Sri Lankan fishermen using petrol-bombs after asking the fishermen in the boat to disembark. Meanwhile, one Indian fisherman from Nagapattinam died in an incident of Sri Lankan Navy brutality. In Sri Lanka, a group of small trawlers in Mannar and Jaffna that have been prevented from fishing through a ban by both community and fisheries department, have been threatening to start fishing if the Indian trawlers are not stopped from fishing in Sri Lankan waters.

A 25-member Sri Lankan fishermen delegation is arriving in Trichy on the 16^th August and will be in Tamil Nadu till 23^rd Aug. The team will visit Rameswaram, Jagadapattinam and Nagapattinam before ending up in Madras for a three day meeting with fishermen representatives from the four Palk Bay districts of Tamil Nadu. The meeting is expected to come up with some short term solutions as well as long term ones (like the reduction of the trawl fleet). Obviously, the Governments have to then be influenced to accept the fishermen solution.

In 2004, the two Governments did not take us seriously. Still we managed to get junior officials from the Sri Lankan fisheries Department and the India High Commission as observers. This time around, the response from the two Governments has been very encouraging. There seems to be even excitement about it in Govt circles. The Fisheries Department of Sri Lanka is sending two senior officials as part of the 25 member delegation. The Tamil Nadu Fisheries Dept is sending three officers to the dialogue in Madras as “observers”.

For the final session of the Madras meeting, the DG Fisheries of Sri Lanka will himself come down to receive the recommendations on behalf of the Sri Lanka Govt. In fact, the Minister himself had wished to participate but had to pull out at due to new commitments. From the Tamil Nadu side, we are hopeful that the Fisheries Minister himself will participate. Fortunately for us the new Fisheries Secretary had encouraged the Goodwill Mission in 2004, when she was the Director of Fisheries. So, we expect good support from the Fisheries Department.

 ARIF Proposals for solving the problem

While the long term solution that emerges should be on the basis of agreements by fishermen and Governments, the following are some of the proposals from ARIF that are feasible and somewhat acceptable to the fishermen.

• Reduction of the trawl fleet on the Indian side of Palk Bay on the basis of appropriate studies and schemes to provide alternative employment or compensation to trawl owners and workers
• Allowing vessels on both sides that use eco-friendly/traditional/small scale fishing methods to fish across the borders, given the limited area of the Palk Bay and the impracticability of fishing in a very narrow area on either side. Management measures will have to be devised that will ensure that the Palk Bay is not overfished and the sharing of the resources by the two fleets are equitable. Security concerns will also have to be addressed.
• Licensing of the Sri Lankan multi-day fishing vessels by India, legalising their operations in Indian waters; number of licences could be limited or quotas fixed for exploiting tuna in Indian waters. Possibility of Joint Ventures between fishermen on both sides could also be promoted as alternative to industrial vessels India has been trying to introduce in its EEZ for deep sea fishing
• While both the Palk Bay problem and the problem of the Sri Lankan multiday fishing boats needs to be tackled, they also need to be handled separately in view of the differences in the actors involved. This proposal essentially deals with the strategy and set of activities to deal with the Palk Bay problem. ARIF intends to work out a separate strategy for the problem of multi-day fishing boats, once Palk Bay initiative gets underway.

A road map for solving the problem in the Palk Bay

The following are the important steps in finding a solution.

1. Dialogue between fishermen on both sides of the Palk Bay and reaching some understanding on the principles behind a solution and the various options available. To come up with both short term and long term solutions.
2. Sensitising the relevant Govt departments, key officials and key political leaders on the issue in both states. Pressing the two Governments to agree to work for a solution on the lines proposed by the fishermen.
3. National level policy dialogues between fishermen and Govt to work out the position of each country on this matter and the kind of changes that have to be made in each country.
4. Govts on both sides to take up formal dialogue and come to an agreement based on the previous steps. At this stage, the role of the fishermen associations and NGOs will depend upon the need felt by the respective Govts to involve them.

Can the fishermen come up with a creative solution that has been eluding the two Governments so far? Will this lead to a new dawn in the Palk Bay? In a fortnight from now, the Madras meeting will surely have some answers.

A Profile of Machhimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan (MASS)

By SAJITH SUKUMARAN

The Origins:
Machhimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan (MASS) came up as a result of the community mobilisation and capacity building that 'Setu' has been doing among the traditional fishing communities of Kutch at Bhadreshwar village in Mundra Taluk of Kutch district. 'Setu' is a programme of Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan.

Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan had evolved from the civil society initiatives for providing relief to the people affected by the 1998 cyclone. When Gujarat had another cyclone in 1999, Abhiyan proved a highly useful platform for NGOs as well as the people during the relief stage. When the earthquake hit Kutch in 2001, Abhiyan emerged as a crucial agency playing a pivotal role in providing relief to the affected families, and also in coordinating the efforts of governmental and civil society agencies.

'Setu', literally meaning 'bridge', has been the flagship programme of Abhiyan after the 2001 earth quake. 'Setu' acts as a bridge between the communities and the outside world. Abhiyan set up a network of Setus in the district, each one of them catering to a cluster of villages. Each Setu also has a thematic focus as well. The Setu at Bhadreshwar has its focus on the fishing communities and coastal issues.

Over the last few years, the Kutch coast has been witnessing massive industrialisation centred around Mundra Port. A large stretch of the Mundra coast is being developed through the setting up of the 7400 crore multi product Special Economic Zones (SEZ) by the Adani Group. The coast has already seen the destruction of large tracts of mangroves and filling up of vast areas of land for infrastructure development. The way this whole process has been progressing led to the fear that the fishing communities may lose their livelihoods, and the entire coastal ecosystem could be in peril in no time.

As a result of the Bhadreshwar Setu's work, the Wagher fishing community got organised to address the imminent threat to their livelihoods. Setu helped the community organise 'Bandar Panchayats', an institutional structure formed around the bandars where the Wagher families move in from different villages and stay for the entire fishing season. Bandar Panchayats were innovative as in they provided a much needed common platform for them to address the issues that they faced at the bandar level.

MASS: The Early Days
Machhimar Adhikar Sangharsh Samiti (MASS, later renamed as Machhimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan) was initiated in early 2007. The Samiti was formed as a forum for organising the fishing communities for struggles to protect their rights to their livelihood in the wake of the fast development around the Mundra Port. It was thirteen fishermen leaders, representing the various villages and bandars on the Mundra coast, who came together to form MASS.

The first major issue that MASS addressed was the need to uphold the rights of the pagadiya fishermen, who go fishing on foot in the intertidal zone, for access to the seashore. The Adani Group had laid an air strip along the coast within the premises of the proposed SEZ. The air strip blocked the traditional pathway used by the pagadiya fishermen of Sekhadiya village. MASS organised an agitation against this. Starting on 10th February 2007, a long struggle evolved, with fisher people continuing a sit in strike for 35 days. Finally, Adani Group had to make amendments to their plans, ensuring the protection of the pathway for the Sekhadiya fishermen. MASS was on its way.

MASS plunged into the national level issues and campaigns by joining and playing an active role in the all India agitation initiated by NFF in May 2008. Led by the late leader Harekrishna Debnath, the struggle was organised in the form of a rally that covered the entire coast starting from Kutch and ending with West Bengal, citing the pertinent issues affecting the fishing communities and demanding the protection of the coasts, culminating with a rally in Delhi on 11th November 2008. MASS was on its way to developing a national perspective of coastal issues.

In 2008, MASS took up large scale awareness campaigns against the massive destruction of mangroves along the Kutch coast by the Adani Group. It held various agitations raising the issue of the rights of the fishing communities to livelihoods. It organised a district level campaign April 2009. The high point of the campaign was a rally in Mundra town on 17th April, which was addressed by several leaders including Fr. Thomas Kochery. In 2009 August, MASS actively involved with the collective action against the proposed power plant to be set up close to Randh bandar, the largest bandar of traditional fisher folks on the Mundra coast.

Since 2008, MASS has been part of the state level and nation wide campaigns and agitations organised or supported by NFF. These included campaign against displacement of fishing communities as part of setting up SEZs, campaigns related to CRZ/CMZ, coastal protection, struggles against destruction of mangroves, campaigns relating to the newly introduced Fisheries Bill, and for protecting the rights of the fishing communities in the wake of massive industrialisation along the coast line.

The case of Mochanam, the missing fishing boat

On 31 May 2010, a deep sea fishing boat, Mochanam, with seven crew members set out to sea from Kolachel harbour in Kanyakumari. The monsoon had just set in, the sea was moderate to rough and the men were bound for the Wedge Bank, a favoured fishing ground this time of the year, for a full week of fishing. A week later when the men didn't return, anxious next of kin and friends began searching for the missing boat and by 08 June, the coastguard and all officials were alerted. All search parties returned without finding the men or the boat. A few days later a piece of the bow of the boat was found floating in the sea by a fishing boat and was towed back to the harbour. The name of the boat was visible on the piece of the recovered debris.

When a boat disappears at sea, we can only guess the possible causes of mishap as no one has actually lived to tell the tale. In this case, the recovery of a piece of the boat has given us some clue of the nature of the mishap. It points somewhat clearly to a mid-sea collision (at night) with a large ship.

In the daytime, men are working on deck and so an approaching ship would be spotted by any of the seven crew members but at night, the situation is different. In most of our fishing boats, all crew members go to sleep at night while anchored and if you ask them why, they say they worked very hard all day so they deserve rest. The argument is watertight but it’s a dangerous thing to do while at sea.

During periods of darkness, a light must always burn on the boat and one man has to stay vigilant for other ships or boats that may approach on collision course and to ensure the light is burning alright, all night long. The movement of the boat or even some rain or spray may get into the light and put it off. Night watches can be shared among the men ensuring all of them get sufficient rest.

On a clear day or night, standing on the deck of Mochanam, one could possibly see a ship or its light from as far as 8 to 10 nautical miles. This is roughly Mochanam's visible horizon. If someone on board Mochanam was vigilant and keeping a look-out, he would have spotted the ship on a collision course 8 to 10 miles away and would have enough time to take corrective action -- either move away or attract the attention of the approaching ship.

Most merchant ships post extra look-outs (besides the navigator) while in coastal waters, particularly at night, so there was someone on board the ship keeping a look-out while the crew of Mochanam was fast asleep after a hard day's work probably anchored in the middle of a shipping route. Since speeds of approach are slow, there are no sudden surprises at sea. Everything moves at a slow pace so there is enough time to take action if we are vigilant.

Depletion of our inshore resources has pushed fishermen into shipping lanes leading to navigation conflicts with merchant ships. Small boat fishermen do not have to fear collisions with ships as they get washed away by the wake of the ship but bigger boats like Mochanam offer more resistance and get beaten down.

A review of accidents in the small scale fishery showed Kanyakumari topping the list with the largest incidents of collision, followed by Tuticorin, Nagapattinam, and Cuddalore. These are collisions with large boats and/or boats of the same size. A review of accidents among larger boats may throw up interesting findings on collisions especially with merchant ships.

Mani (53), Essak (52), Cleetus (48), Biju (36), Shaji (29), Binu (26) and Satheesh (18) are the Kanyakumari fishermen who went down with Mochanam. Collisions are just one among twelve types of commonly reported accidents in the Tamil Nadu fishery and fifth in terms of human casualties. Mochanam is an example of one of the risks and dangers fishermen face daily -- an example that took seven lives.

Climate change, Oceans and Fisheries

 

A change in statistical distribution of temperature and rainfall over periods of time ranging from decades to millions of years is called climate change. This is a naturally occurring phenomenon but since the middle of the 20^th century, human influence on global climate has been substantial and much of the change has been attributed to human activity.

These effects or influences are called anthropogenic or man-made. This term is often used when describing polluting emissions produced by human activities - all major human impacts on the environment like chemical or biological wastes produced as by-products of otherwise purposeful and useful human activities.

This change in global climate has been observed as an increase in average global temperatures and hence the term global warming.

The impact of climate change and harmful human emissions of CO2 on the oceans of the world is substantial. The ocean has the capacity to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and is called a natural carbon sink – a place where CO2 is absorbed and retained. However, if too much CO2 is absorbed, the ocean turns acidic which is not good for marine life and reduces its capacity to act as a carbon sink.

So we have two major issues directly affecting oceans and marine life – rising temperatures and acidification – both caused largely by human activity post industrialisation. Another issue affecting oceans is the increase in frequency of storms and cyclones due to global warming.

Rising temperatures:

When global temperatures rise, polar ice caps will melt causing a rise in sea levels that directly affects fishing communities living in the front line of coastal areas. Sea incursions into the coast will increase and low lying islands and coastal lands like the Maldives and Bangladesh will be under the risk of submersion.

Salt water intrusions from rise in sea levels, into fresh water bodies will cause salinity and affect communities of inland fishermen who are dependent on fresh water fish and river water for drinking.

Also, fish are adapted to specific temperatures of water and any change in water temperature will mean they have to migrate to areas where the water has the right temperature. This means fishing grounds will change and some of them may be lost forever. Fishermen may have to go greater distances in search of fish which means they burn more fossil fuels – both expensive and harmful.

Rising sea temperatures also result in frequent storms and cyclones which further endanger the lives and livelihoods of traditional fishermen who have poor safety at sea facilities.

Acidification:

Rise in the acidity of oceans makes it difficult for marine organisms like corals, oysters or shrimps to form shells – a process called calcification. Many vital organisms like the zooplankton which form the staple food of marine life have calcium shells so acidification will affect the marine food web and cause unpredictable changes in the production, distribution and species composition of marine life. All marine life is interconnected, this means coral reefs, mangroves, sea grass beds etc that provide habitat for marine organisms will also be affected.

If acidification continues unchecked, marine life will degrade and change in unpredictable ways affecting coastal communities adversely.

Adaptation to climate change:

Several international agencies like the FAO and the World Bank have programs to help communities in the developing world adapt to the effects of climate change on their livelihoods. Reducing capacity of fishing fleets, fisheries co-management, creation of marine protected areas are among those that help fish stocks recover and increase economic returns from the harvest of marine resources.

Climate change is a widely discussed topic in the media as well as in scientific circles. There are those that believe climate change is happening and those that do not. The controversy exists more in the media than in scientific circles and political influences have also played a leading role in shaping opinions. However, more and more scientists and scientific organizations are endorsing man-made influences on climate and have joined the call for mitigating action.

There is no immediate danger to coastal communities and ecosystems but all projections into the future look bleak so now is the time for action keeping in mind that fishing needs to be maintained as a viable occupation while adapting and mitigating the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems.