Sri Lanka top court hears rights petition against Indian fishermen by StuffsEarth

Indian trawlers that reportedly poach in Sri Lankan waters, pose a serious challenge to the livelihoods of northern Sri Lankan fishermen. Fisher folks seen at work along the northern coast of Jaffna Peninsula. File
| Photo Credit: Meera Srinivasan.

The Supreme Court in Colombo yesterday had moved that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs be made a respondent in the fundamental rights petition filed against illegal bottom trawling carried out by the south Indian fishermen in the Sri Lanka waters in the north and northeastern seas.

Sri Lankan fishermen have asked authorities to prevent Indian fishermen from engaging in illegal bottom trawling in the island nation’s territorial waters and to direct the Air Force to prevent incursions by Indian trawlers.

Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other’s waters.

The Sri Lanka Navy has so far held 23 Indian trawlers and 178 Indian fishermen for allegedly fishing in the island nation’s waters thus far in 2024, and handed them over to authorities for legal action, the Sri Lankan Navy said in a statement in February.

Meanwhile, the Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ) filed a petition in December last year along with the affected fishermen from the northern and northeastern regions of Jaffna and Mannar against illegal bottom trawling carried out by the Indian fishermen in the Sri Lanka waters in the north and northeastern seas.

A three-member Supreme Court Bench had its first hearing on the issue on Monday.

The petitioners pleaded in court that around 50,000 local fishermen have been affected by illegal fishing in the Sri Lankan waters by their Indian counterparts. They estimate an annual loss to Sri Lanka in the region of SLR 4-7 billion in addition to the environmental damage caused due to bottom trawling.

The Fisheries Minister, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, the commanders of the Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Airforce have been cited as respondents.

The case will be next taken up on August 5, a spokesman for the CEJ told PTI here.

The petitioners have sought orders from the court to prevent the Indian fishermen from engaging in illegal fishing in the local territorial waters and to direct the Sri Lanka Air Force to prevent incursions by Indian trawlers into Sri Lankan waters.

The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan territorial waters.

On April 3, as many as 19 Indian fishermen detained by the Sri Lanka Navy were repatriated to India after being released by authorities here.

The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries.