As the fishermen from both, India and Sri Lanka gather to pray at the island of Kachchativu on 16 March, they not only bring their faith but all also their struggle to continue to fish in Sri Lankan waters.
"You can ask us to compromise but do not ask us to sacrifice our lives," said the Rameshwaran District Fishermen's Association President, B. Emerit as he spoke about the banning of Indian fishermen fishing in Sri Lankan waters. He is a dark man dressed in full white and together with his associate, the Ramanadapuram District Fishermen's Association President, B. Yesuraj, they are determined to continue to fish in Sri Lankan waters. At the festival, they are here to pray but when it comes to fishing, they are not ready to stay away from Sri Lankan waters.
The second round of talks between Sri Lanka and India, with regards to the fishing issue, will take place on 25 March. There is much hope centred on the talks with many expecting a long-term solution to the fishing issue between the two countries.
While the Indian fishermen continue to fish in Sri Lankan waters, 50,000 Northern fishermen who depend on fishing for a livelihood complain that the Indian trawlers not only take their fish but they also destroy the marine environment, destroying the fish population in the area as a whole.
Emerit however, says that while they understand the issues of the Sri Lankan fishermen, change is going to be tough thing to ask for. "Many have suffered great financial losses and even risk their own safety while fishing in Sri Lankan waters but we continue to come to Sri Lanka to fish, because this is what we have been doing for centuries. We are simply continuing the tradition of our forefathers."
Fishing in Sri Lankan waters in North was halted during the war and for 30 years the seas flourished with fish. However, once the war ended, the Indians were back to their habit of fishing in Sri Lankan waters.
"Up to 1983 we were fishing here but stopped after that because there was a situation where we could get shot, because the Sri Lankan Navy could not distinguish between us and the LTTE. When peace came, we were back and have been talking of this issue since 2004.
"Politicians have dragged this issue for a long time. They have now informed us that they would continue talks in Sri Lanka on 25 March. I hope we can get a favourable solution for both sides through this and be able to fish in peace. The Indian Government also arrests Lankan fishermen and we are against this too, fishermen should not be arrested by either government."
The two Presidents of the Indian Fishermen's Associations say that all they ask is that Sri Lanka let them fish on the days where the Sri Lankan fishermen do not fish. When they were told that they would be infringing on the maritime boundary of the country if such a demand was granted, they said that to ask them to keep away completely would be grossly unfair.
"The Sri Lankan fishermen can fish for 294 days of the year and let us fish for 72 days. This is not unreasonable. We need to make a living too. We will let Sri Lankan fishermen fish in our waters too," says Yesuraj getting to what they really want from the Sri Lankan Government.
Yesuraj's demand is that of compromise despite violations of maritime boundaries, "We are aware that Sri Lankan fishermen too find it difficult to fish just like us. We don't want them to get affected but that does not mean that we should not fish either. We cannot die so that they can live. Lankan fishermen can fish for two meals but let us also fish for at least one. It is not fair for you to ask us not to come here."
One of the main contentions with the Indian fishermen is that their trawlers destroy our marine environment. The Indian fishermen however, deny that their trawlers have such an impact on the marine environment.
"Trawlers are not banned in India, though they are banned here. We cannot change our traditional fishing methods immediately just because Sri Lanka decides to ban it. During the talks perhaps they can give us time to adapt to the new ways and give us alternatives to what we practice now," says Emerit.
Emerit also stressed that he did not think that bottom trawlers affected the marine floor and its fauna, "I have heard that these bottom trawlers damage the sea floor but I do not believe that. We have been fishing in Indian waters using bottom trawling for years and we still keep getting fish. There is no problem with it."
While the Presidents of the Indian Fishermen's Associations explain the politics behind their fishing, an ordinary Indian fisherman who works for fishing company in India explains that they poach in Sri Lankan waters because it is a simple question of economics.
"We are aware that we are not allowed to come to Sri Lankan waters but what can we do? We have to fish and make money. In India we get Indian Rs 15 profit for a catch but if we fish in Sri Lanka we can get a profit of Indian Rs 20. We come here because there is a higher profit here," says Balasubramanium , a fisherman from Rameshwaran.
When asked why he would not shift from bottom trawling, he said it is because he just cannot afford to do so and is awaiting government assistance for the switch.
"We have been using trawlers for the past 100 years, we cannot switch so quickly. We also use about 1,000 boats in our group and to use krill (nylon) nets is too expensive. It would at least take 4-5 years with funding to completely abandon trawling.
"The government said they would give us a grant of Indian Rs 3 million to get krill nets and they say it has been passed too but to get the boat and the net reality would take a minimum of two years."
Reiterating the statements of Yesuraj and Emiret, Balasubramanium says, "I suggest that you allow us to fish at least on the days in which the Sri Lankan fishermen do not fish. When we bring our trawlers, do not use the krill nets. A few days of trawling will not make a difference. We do that in India too. Bottom trawling is only banned in Sri Lanka, not India. So you cannot expect us not to use it."
According to Balasubramanium, 173 Indian fishermen from his area have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in the past for fishing in Sri Lankan waters.
Northern Province Naval Commander, Rear Admiral D.M.S. Dissanayake, commenting on the fishermen said that Sri Lankan fishermen when going out of Sri Lankan waters usually fished in the Arabian Sea and on their way back cast their nets in Indian waters. It is then that they get caught by the Indian Navy. The Commander also added that though the Indian fishermen were treated well while they were in the custody of the Sri Lankan Navy, the Sri Lankan fishermen who are under Indian custody were treated poorly. "It is on the Sri Lankan side that fish come to breed and you have small pockets of fish breeding grounds. The Indian bottom trawlers then come and scrape the floor of everything and destroy fish eggs, as well as adult fish. When this happens, no one will get any fish in future," explained Commander Dissanayake.
The main desire of both fishermen on either side of the Palk Strait seems to be to earn a decent living and they try to do so risking life and limb. The question however, which remains to be answered during the talks, which are to be held on 25 March, is whether the two counterparts can allow the other to live and let live for the mutual benefit of all.
