Sri Lanka’s Northern Province fishermen leaders favour India - SL joint patrolling to curb ‘poaching’ in Palk Bay region

Leaders suggest joint naval patrolling to curb poaching in Palk Bay, amid ongoing fisheries dispute between India and Sri Lanka.

Even as the fisheries dispute in the Palk Bay is witnessing yet another round of intensity, a suggestion has come from leaders of fishermen’s associations in Northern Province, Sri Lanka, that Navies of both the countries conduct joint patrolling to curb alleged poaching by fishermen of Tamil Nadu. 

This idea was floated at a meeting between the leaders of the fishing community in the North and officials of the Indian Consulate General in Jaffna on February 27. Coincidentally, on the same day, fishermen from the islands of Delft, Nainathivu, Eluvaithivu, Mandaithivu, Kayts and Pungudutivu staged a protest in Jaffna, opposing, what they called, illegal mechanised bottom trawling by the Indian fishermen in their sea. 

A release of the Consulate General, issued on Monday (March 3, 2025), stated that the fishermen, who met its officials the same day, were from Delft, Point Pedro and Gurunagar. Among other suggestions made by the fishermen’s delegation were the resumption of discussions between fishermen from the countries to find a long-term solution and the deployment of buoys or beacons along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) for easier identification, particularly during night.

The leaders, while expressing their concerns over financial losses reportedly suffered by them on account of Indian fishermen’s incursions into their sea and the adverse impact of bottom trawling, employed by the Indian fishermen, on the marine ecosystem of Sri Lanka, made it clear that their protest was solely driven by “livelihood concerns” and had “no political affiliations.” They handed over to the officials of the Consulate General a copy of the petition addressed to Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Traditionally, particularly when the civil war was on in the neighbouring country, India had not been supportive of the idea of joint patrolling, a course of action that Sri Lanka favours. However, in November 2016 when the two countries decided to set up a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Fisheries, one of the Terms of Reference of the Group pertained to “ascertaining possibilities for cooperation on patrolling.”  In March 2022, at the fifth meeting of the JWG, both sides discussed cooperation between Navy and Coast Guard of the two countries in patrolling, even as the Indian side expressed its readiness to work together with Sri Lanka for joint research to enhance the productivity of Palk Bay fisheries. Nothing much has been heard since then. 

Meanwhile, A. Jathindra, a political analyst and the founder of the Centre for Strategic Studies — Trincomalee (CSST), a body that highlights issues of geopolitical significance in relation to Sri Lanka and south Asia, has proposed establishing an Indo-Lanka Naval Task Force in Palk Bay, recommending that Katchatheevu be considered a joint station for the naval operations between the two countries. “This will prevent arbitrary arrests by the Sri Lankan Navy and deter Indian fishermen when they try to cross the maritime boundary,” he states in an article. 

The political analyst has called upon the National People’s Power (NPP) government to consider the idea of leasing Katchatheevu to India. If China can get Hambantota on a lease for 99 years, there should be no problem in extending a similar arrangement over Katchatheevu to India, he adds.