In a move that could spark a row between Colombo and New Delhi, Sri Lankan authorities have planned to auction off as many as 105 boats belonging to fishermen from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Boats were seized from fishermen who had been arrested by Sri Lankan forces for what they say illegally fishing into their waters. 

Sri Lanka’s Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources issued advertisements in local newspapers for public auctioning of seized boats in February, reported Daily Mirror, prompting protests from fishermen unions in Tamil Nadu. 

In December last year, Sri Lankan security forces had arrested a total of 68 Indian fishermen—13 of them were released earlier this month—and confiscated 10 mechanized boats. M K Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, had written to the central government for the release of fishermen and their boats.  [Read More]

As per the advertisements issued by the government, the planned auctions will take place in several north and eastern districts, including Jaffna. 

“The auction would kill the hopes of hundreds of boat owners and fishers yearning to get back their livelihood for years,” B Balamurugan, president of Jegathapattinam Fishers Association in Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu, was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror.

Government assistance, he added, would not be enough to compensate for the losses. 

Meanwhile, an official from Tamil Nadu’s fisheries department said, “Most of the boats may have lost their seaworthiness after rusting in Lankan harbors for years. Sri Lankan fisheries department may be selling the boats for scrap.” 

The fishing issue remains one of the most complicated unresolved issues between India and Sri Lanka, as the latter often accuses Indian fishermen fromTamil Nadu of illegal poaching in its territorial water. 

Any coercive action from Colombo stirs up passions in Tamil Nadu, where the issue dominates political discourse. Furthermore, the recent move to auction off the boats may also throw a spanner in efforts the two nations have been putting in smoothing their strained ties. 

Crisis-ridden Sri Lanka has received significant financial assistance from New Delhi in recent weeks and the recent move could delay further economic assistance that Colombo is still seeking from New Delhi. 

(SAM)