Can Sri Lanka auction Indian fishing boats?

Sri Lanka, on February 7, auctioned 135 Indian fishing boats seized for “encroaching Sri Lankan waters”. Surprisingly, the auction took place while Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister was on a three-day visit to India. The crucial question is: Can Sri Lanka auction Indian fishing boats?

The answer depends on where the Indian fishing boats were apprehended from. If they were seized in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), according to Article 73(2) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), “Arrested vessels and their crews shall be promptly released upon the posting of a reasonable bond or other security.”

But if they were apprehended from the territorial waters of Sri Lanka, as per Article 19(2) of UNCLOS, the intrusion “shall be considered to be prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State”. The exact location of apprehension, therefore, needs to be ascertained before establishing the legality of detention and auction of Indian fishing vessels.

Sri Lanka justifies its decision to seize trawlers and mechanised boats caught violating the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) of Sri Lanka “to discourage them (Indian fishermen) poaching into our waters…” Such methods, according to Sri Lanka, are required “in order to protect Sri Lanka’s marine resources and local fishing industry.” The island state “perceives illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) as a serious threat to the sustainability of the fisheries both in national jurisdictions and high seas, and agrees that such fishing has to be prevented, deterred and eliminated.”

Section 28A of ‘Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act’ completely prohibits bottom trawling. Violators face two years’ imprisonment or a fine of 50,000 Sri Lankan rupees. Section 61 of ‘Chank Fisheries Management Regulations’ stipulates that “No person should engage in dredging operations or trawling operations for the purpose of taking chank”; if found violating, a fine of up to 25,000 Sri Lankan rupees would be imposed.

Under the ‘Fisheries (Regulation of Foreign Fishing Boats) Act’, No. 59 of 1979, “sanctions against IUU fishing in Sri Lanka waters by foreign fishing boats include heavy fines, a surcharge of repatriation costs of the crew, and forfeiture of the relevant fishing boat and fishing equipment, and the fish catch.” Legality of auctioning of boats is covered under this Act, provided Indian fishing boats were involved in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Apart from the legality, the manner of discordance of seized boats is also being questioned. Tamil Nadu chief minister’s letter to Indian prime minister dated January 25, 2022, calls for “transparent disposal” of these captured boats that include “consultation with the concerned stakeholders”.

The letter also expressed “a deep sense of disappointment” that Sri Lanka slated the auction at a time when the Indo-Sri Lankan Joint Working Group on Fisheries was scheduled to discuss the issue. The Tamil Nadu government had already issued orders for deputing officials and stakeholders from Tamil Nadu to inspect and oversee the disposal of fishing boats and to transfer the sale proceeds to the owners of these boats back in India.

In the process, one wonders what is being disposed of: the entire boat or just engines? If it is entire boats, what is the use when bottom trawling is banned in Sri Lanka? If it is engines alone, would they fetch a good price in Sri Lanka when the island is going through an unprecedented recession? One also wonders, why Sri Lanka has to detain boats for so long? To avoid damage to boats due to long berthing, captured boats can be released immediately with hefty fines. That way, deterrence value is not undermined apart from the proportion of wastages in every manner.

The issue has to be looked at in a holistic manner. Considering good bilateral ties and noting India’s huge economic assistance to Sri Lanka, Colombo could accommodate the former’s difficulties in handling the fishermen issue. New Delhi has been trying its best to resolve the issue that is entangled with the politico-economic and socio-cultural vicissitudes of Tamil Nadu.

The main point of contention is Indian mechanised trawlers that indulge in pair, mid-water, pelagic, and bottom trawling, damaging marine resources and the sea bed. This “unselective method” of fishing has threatened marine ecology and is unsustainable in the long run. Encouraging trawlers to pursue deep-sea fishing and sensitising them on sustainable fishing within legal bounds are the options that need a greater push.

(The author is Director, Centre for East Asian Studies, Christ University, Bengaluru. He earlier served at the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), PMO.)