MAYILADUTHURAI: Seven fishermen from Mayiladuthurai district figured among the 13 who on Monday set out to sea from Pudukkottai district and were arrested late that night by the Sri Lankan navy for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). This, coastal delta native fishermen say, is not an isolated incident, pointing to conflicts and the lure of tranquil sea at Palk Strait as making them to risk it all and migrate to fish.
P Selladurai, a boat-owning fisherman from Vanagiri in Mayiladuthurai district said, “I have been fishing from Palk Bay for years. I brought my vessel here to Jegathampattinam (in Pudukkottai) because I do not have a harbour at my village. I do not wish to berth at Poompuhar harbour because of differences we have with them like their use of purse seine nets. So I migrated to Jegathampattinam where we can fish in unison with the Palk Bay villagers.”
With the Palk Bay bordering five coastal districts between Nagapattinam and Ramanathapuram, fishers in the region carry out fishing in Palk Strait on alternate days of the week, in a rotational policy between mechanised boats and motorised boats.
The lone conflict they have is reportedly with Sri Lanka which arrests them for allegedly crossing the IMBL, with delta native fishers among them. It may be noted that one of the two boats that were seized by the Sri Lankan navy during Monday’s arrest of 13 fishermen was a trawler from Sembanarkoil block in Mayiladuthurai district. It was, however, operating from Jegathampattinam harbour.
Sources said nearly 150 such boats from Mayiladuthurai district are operating from the Jegathampattinam harbour and the fish landing centre at Kottaipattinam in Pudukkottai district. Some of the fishers from Nagapattinam district also operate from Mallipattinam in Thanjavur district.
P Balamurugan, a fisher representative from Jegathampattinam said, “Fishers from other districts migrate to Palk Bay because the waters in Palk Strait are tranquil, especially during monsoon, as compared to the Coromandel waters. They respect the law of the land. But they are also facing the same conflict with the Sri Lankan Navy as us when it comes to fishing.”