Stepping stones towards conflict resolution in the Palk Strait

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An Updated View on the Fisheries Conflict Between India and Sri Lanka

Sarah Nasrawi University of Amsterdam

Bachelor Thesis Future Planet Studies 2021

Student number: 12051349 Date: 28-05-2021

First reader: Maarten Bavinck & Esther Jansen Second reader: Robin Pistorius

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Abstract

In 2021, the bodies of four Indian fishers were found ashore Sri Lanka. This incident hit the headlines quickly, telling a tale of the Sri Lankan marine arresting and hurting Indian fishers. But is that the whole story, or is there more going on under the surface? When the Sri Lankan civil war ended in 2009, local fishers returned to the Palk Strait, a strip of water between India and Sri Lanka, on which their livelihoods had depended for a long time. What they found was fish depletion and Indian trawlers in their territory. Due to techno-economic dualism in the Palk Strait, the Sri Lankan fleet didn’t stand a chance against the Indian trawlers. This famous dispute, the Palk Strait fishing conflict, has been extensively described since then. While there is extensive knowledge on the conflict, it is no longer what it used to be. Recent headlines on the issue show that the dispute has changed at the core. If India and Sri Lanka are ever to reach a sustainable resolution of this conflict, a complete understanding of the conflict and how it has changed over time is crucial. Therefore, this research has looked into the origin of the conflict, the most important developments since then, the role of the media, and previous attempts at conflict resolution. This will lead to a better understanding of what the Palk Strait fishing conflict means today and how conflict resolution plans will have to adapt in the future. Through the use of multiple sources, from scientific literature, to media coverage on the conflict, in combination with an expert on the situation in the Palk Strait, this research has shown that the problem definition of the conflict has shifted. There is a different perception of guilt and victimization, which impacts the public opinion as well as the opportunities for conflict resolution.

Keywords: fish depletion, techno-economic dualism, trawlers, conflict resolution, victimization.

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1. Introduction

When the bodies of four deceased fishers washed ashore on the coast of northern Sri Lanka in 2021, protests arose in India. The fishermen were from Tamil Nadu, India. After sailing towards the Palk Strait, a strip of water between India and Sri Lanka, they had been reported missing. The Sri Lankan navy is believed to be responsible for the killing of these fishermen. These events sparked my interest as a researcher into the story beneath the headlines.

The whole story may be long and complicated but not isolated. Fishing wars such as in the Palk Strait are increasingly common, especially in South Asia. Population growth, economic growth, and urbanization have led to a global increase in the demand for seafood. This increase has spiked the economic aspirations of both small-scale fisheries and large fishing corporations (Suryanarayan, 2005). Furthermore, depleting fish stocks force fishing industries to expand their activities to keep up with demand (Crona et al., 2015). This depletion led to an increased use of mechanized techniques, fishing during breeding seasons, and overfishing (Suryanarayan, 2005). Moreover, trends like globalization and transnationalism have also instigated fishing conflicts, especially on fishing territories (Scholtens et al., 2012).

One aspect that often complicates fishing conflicts is a technological gap between two parties, meaning that one party has more access to mechanized boats and fishing techniques. These circumstances are referred to as dualism, a situation in which two areas are in a relationship with one another, and one is developing at the expense of the other (Moseley et al., 2014).

According to Maarten Bavinck (2005), dualism in fishing industries arose after WWII, partnered with a large-scale transition in the industry. This transition is called the Blue Revolution and refers to the upgrading and increasing governance of aquaculture value chains. It aims to increase production, including breeding, marketing, rearing, and export of fish (Ponte et al., 2014).

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To focus back on the Palk Strait, which has been an essential source of fishing grounds for India and Sri Lanka, providing jobs and food for tens of thousands of fishers in both countries. The map below shows the Palk Strait, which is the geographical context of this research. The shallow strait lies between the South-Eastern coast of India and the North-Western coast of Sri Lanka.

Sovereign Limits (n.d.). India-Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary

Fishing activities in the Palk Strait serve as a cultural practice as it has been the way of life for generations on end (Suryanarayan, 2005). The Palk Strait is a great example of the abovementioned arising issues in the fishing industries. For example, the mechanized Indian trawler fleets threaten the small-scale fisheries from Sri Lanka, which is a clear example of dualism.

The conflict in the Palk Strait is extensively described in scientific literature. However, the common thread is increasingly hard to understand. The origin and the earlier developments of the

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conflict are mainly represented in scientific literature, but the media has covered most of the recent developments. This research aims at uncovering the common thread in the Palk Strait fishing conflict. This will be a stepping stone towards genuinely understanding the conflict and how it has changed over time. Only through this understanding will it be possible to start a constructive discussion on the possibilities for conflict resolution in the Palk Strait. Therefore, the main research question is: How has the Palk Strait fishing conflict developed at the core of its issues over time? To truly understand the development of the conflict, there are four sub-questions in this research.

Firstly: How, when, and why did the Palk Strait fishing conflict start? Secondly: What are the most important developments in the Palk Strait fishing conflict since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009? This sub-question will be researched in two different regions, the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna region of northern Sri Lanka. Also, this sub-question will include developments in the interactions between both areas. The third sub-question is: What does recent media coverage on the Palk Strait fishing conflict say about the development of the conflict? Lastly, sub-question four is: What attempts have there been at conflict resolution and what can be learned from them?

The results from these sub-questions, in chapters four to seven, will eventually be used as an essential framework for understanding how the conflict has evolved, and why. Conclusions from these chapters will be applied to a graph in chapter eight, which shows how much fish is produced in the Palk Strait by Indian and Sri Lankan fleets each year. The conflict developments will explain and certify this graph.

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2. Theoretical Framework

This theoretical framework will dive into the different theories and concepts that are relevant to this research. This chapter aims at providing a clear understanding of specific developmental trends that underline the Palk Strait conflict. As discussed in the introduction, this conflict is a symptom of global issues, and an understanding of these issues is crucial for this research. Furthermore, this chapter aims to elaborate on context-specific terms to provide a better comprehension of the issues specific to the Palk Strait conflict.

2.1 Global developmental trends

2.1.1 Population growth and food demand

The human population is rapidly growing globally, which can refer to both physical and economic population growth. The first is the increase in people's number, and the latter is the increase of economic activities per capita. Both forms of population growth led to a rise in the demand for food and an increase in demand for food variety. These factors put pressure on the food industry, including the fishing industry (Limburg et al., 2011).

2.1.2 Urbanization and food demand

According to Regmi & Dyck (2001), urbanization also has an enormous impact on food demand. Urbanization, defined as the relative increase of people living in urban areas, impacts their living environment and food habits. These impacts are partially due to activity, lifestyle, culture, and availability. The issue here is that urbanization is happening globally, which has an enormous impact on the food industry everywhere.

2.1.3 Globalization

Not only has the global population changed in terms of numbers or urbanization, but through globalization as well. Globalization refers to the process in which movements, exchanges,

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and services are increasingly at a global level. In the food industry, this means an increase in the international trade of food products. Increasing trade puts even more pressure on food industries, as they are now also to feed other countries (Inglis, 2010)

2.1.4 Transnationalism

Bevir (2009) argues that the process of globalization has increased the existence of transnationalism. He defines transnationalism as “economic, political and cultural links that transcend borders” (Bevir, 2009)

2.1.5 Legal pluralism

Transnationalism has increased the complexity of legal issues in areas such as the Palk Strait. This concept is popularly referred to as legal pluralism, the co-existence of multiple legal systems within one social area. Bavinck (2005) defines legal pluralism as “different legal mechanisms applicable to identical situations”, which relates to the Palk Strait fishing conflict as well. India and Sri Lanka have different laws and policies on fishing, yet practically share a space in which these laws and policies are implemented.

2.2 Context-specific terms 2.2.1 Mechanization

The fishing industry has gone through a process of large-scale mechanization. According to Evenson & Gollin (2003), the sector aimed to cope with the changing demand for fish. Ponte et al. (2014) agrees with this theory. According to them, the growing global demand for fish products has led to a development within the industry called the Blue Revolution. This revolution within the aquaculture industry meant large-scale mechanization in order to increase the sector’s productivity to keep up with global demand.

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Multiple studies argue that this intensification of the fishing industry leads to the decline of fish stocks due to overfishing. According to Crona et al. (2015), this forced fishing industries to intensify even further, as fish depletion makes it more challenging to keep up with global demand. Limburg et al. (2011) even predict this trend to worsen in the future. The theory that the intensification of the industry leads to fish depletion is also a relevant issue in the Palk Strait.

2.2.3 Techno-economic dualism

In the Palk Strait, the Indian fleet has become increasingly vast and production efficient over the years, which shows that the Indian fishing industry has intensified through the Blue Revolution. An important distinction to clarify is that there are different levels of mechanization in the fishing industry. The fleets that have mechanized at a more extreme level are often found in deeper waters further from the coast. Bavinck (2005) argues that the Indian fleet in the Palk Strait is not mechanized at such a high level yet can still be classified as modernized fishing boats. Therefore, when this research refers to the Indian fleet as mechanized, it should be interpreted as relatively mechanized.

This relativity is precisely the problem in the Palk Strait. After all, the Indian fleet is still significantly more developed than the small fleet from Sri Lanka (Bavinck, 2005). This contrast in development has led to a situation of techno-economic dualism. Both India and Sri Lanka are essentially fishing from a shared pool of resources, but the dualistic structure impacts their level of access to fish stocks (Scholtens et al., 2012).

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3. Methodology

This next section will provide insight into the mixed methods used for this research to answer the main research question: How has the core of the Palk Strait fishing conflict changed over time? Mixed methods refer to the use of both quantitative and qualitative research. Quantitative research means looking into information about quantities or numbers. On the other hand, qualitative research is concerned with observing and describing situations (Bryman, 2012). In the case of the Palk Strait and its conflict developments, mixed methods are necessary. Whereas data such as the amount of fish production or the number of fishermen arrests are quantitative in nature, the underlying reasons are qualitative. Only through the use of both methods can these two be linked, to truly understand the issues in the Palk Strait.

3.1 Research questions

This research builds around the main research question: How has the Palk Strait fishing conflict developed at the core of its issues over time? As discussed in the introduction, this research includes four sub-questions as well. The first focuses on the conflict origin: How, when, and why did the Palk Strait fishing conflict start? The second focuses on significant conflict developments since 2009: What are the most important developments in the Palk Strait fishing conflict since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009? The third focuses on media coverage of the conflict: What does recent media coverage on the Palk Strait fishing conflict say about the development of the conflict? The fourth and final sub-question focuses on previous attempts at conflict resolution: What attempts have there been at conflict resolution in the Palk Strait, and what can be learned from them?

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3.2 Operationalization

This next section provides an operationalization table on the following page, which goes into the different sub-questions, relevant indicators and the used research methods.

Sub-question Indicators Research methods

How, when and why did the Palk Strait fishing conflict start?

Quantitative data:

Important dates in the origin of the conflict.

Qualitative data:

Global or local developments leading up to the existence of the conflict.

Quantitative research:

Gathering and chronologically organizing findings.

Qualitative research: Analyzing the link between important events leading up to the conflict.

What are the most important developments in the Palk Strait fishing conflict since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009?

Quantitative data:

Policy changes in India or Sri Lanka which are relevant to the conflict.

Qualitative data:

Interactions between Indian and Sri Lankan stakeholders.

Qualitative research:

Analyzing how these findings change the core of the

conflict. What does recent media

coverage on the Palk Strait fishing conflict say about the developments of the conflict?

Quantitative data:

Incidents in the interaction between Indian and Sri Lankan stakeholders in the conflict, including dates and important statistics.

Qualitative research: Discourse analysis on

language use and narrative in media sources.

What attempts have there been at conflict resolution and what can be learned from them?

Qualitative data:

Gathering information on previous attempts at conflict resolution in the Palk Strait.

Qualitative research: Critically analyzing these attempts at conflict resolution.

Interview with Maarten Bavinck on the

REINCORPFISH project.

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3.3 Data collection and analysis

This research consists of both collecting and analyzing data. When looking at the history of the conflict, data will be collected through an online search for scientific articles in relevant journals. The most significant developments from these sources are to be selected to build a foundation for the eventual conflict timeline. When researching the conflict developments since 2009, data will be collected through scientific articles and adds media- and video sources. These sources will also be found through an online search. The analysis of these findings will be based upon the two regions on which this question focuses and the interactive level which the sub-question includes. This approach means analyzing whether found developments are Indian, Sri Lankan, or interactive in nature. When researching media coverage on the conflict specifically, data will be collected through (online) news articles on the conflict. From these sources, important events and their dates are chronologically organized and added to the conflict timeline.

3.4 Reflection and ethical considerations

Conflicts are inherently sensitive and subjective issues. Not only are conflicts sensitive issues to those involved, but there are also many different sides to any story. Therefore, it is crucial to reflect upon my outsider position as an author. This research aims to provide a clear and objective overview of how the Palk Strait conflict started and how it has changed since then. Objectivity may be an essential aim, yet it is never possible to guarantee. Therefore, this research should focus on facts. These facts could be in the form of dates, names, policy changes, or statistics. The conflict timeline should consist of these facts only to ensure an objective summary of the conflict.

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Moreover, this research aims at starting a discussion on possibilities for conflict resolution in the Palk Strait. When discussing this, it should be considered that many factors influencing the opportunities for conflict resolution are cultural in nature, which I, as an author, will not be able to understand. Therefore, the suggestions made for conflict resolution will focus mainly on practical solutions and should otherwise not be taken too literally. It is important to interpret these as suggestions, not facts. In conclusion, the research will build upon as many facts as possible, but my personal views on conflict resolution should not be interpreted as fact.

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4. Historical conflict analysis

From here on out, the results of this research will be presented. This specific chapter will lay out the findings in accordance with the first sub-question. This sub-question is: How, when, and why did the Palk Strait fishing conflict start?

In the 1960s, India was in the midst of a financial crisis. Due to this, the Indian government was looking for new ways to stimulate the economy. A solution they found was to turn to seafood exports, especially prawns. The Indian government applied subsidies so that fishers could afford new fishing boats. These new boats would allow fishers to harvest a large number of prawns, exceeding the amount needed to meet local demand. These harvests could meet demands all over the world (Sinha, 2012).

What was happening in India at the time is a clear example of the Blue Revolution. This revolution was, as previously discussed, a reaction to a growing global demand for seafood products and aimed for intensification of the industry to keep up with this global demand (Ponte et al., 2014).

In the Tamil Nadu state of India, fishers took this chance and used subsidies to buy new boats called trawlers. These trawlers drop nets with heavyweights on them to rake the bottom of the seabed, searching for prawns and other seafood. This method is incredibly effective concerning yield, but the heavyweights rip up the seabed. This technique leads to damages to the seafloor’s ecosystem. Also, if applied uncontrolled, trawling depletes fish supplies very quickly (Vox, 2019). This new fishing technique was part of the Indo-Norwegian agreement drawn up in 1968 when Norwegian intervention in India led to the use of trawlers in order to stimulate the export of prawns (BRON).

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A few years later, in 1974, and after that again in 1976, India and Sri Lanka successfully negotiated a maritime boundary line in the Palk Strait. This border aimed to clearly divide the fishing rights and boundaries in the Palk Strait (Scholtens & Bavinck, 2018).

In 1983, Sri Lanka fell into national chaos with the eruption of the Sri Lankan civil war. The conflict started with an insurgency against the government. The protest group was called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). As a result of continuous discrimination and violence against the Sri Lankan Tamil minorities, the LTTE fought for the creation of an independent Tamil state. Over the course of roughly 26 years of violent conflict on this issue, fishing activity was heavily restricted. Fishers from the Jaffna region of northern Sri Lanka were constantly displaced, and fishing gear was severely damaged. The impact of the was on fishing production can be clearly seen in statistics. Before the war, the fish production of the Jaffna district added up to 25% of the national fish production. A year and a half after the war, this was a mere 6% of the national production. These years of Sri Lankan aquaculture retraction created space for the Indian trawler fleet to fish beyond the agreed-upon boundaries, depleting fish stocks in Sri Lankan waters (Scholtens et al., 2012).

In 2009, the Sri Lankan civil war came to an end. The imposed fishing bans from during the war were lifted, and Sri Lankan fishers returned to the Palk Strait. However, they found the Indian trawler fleet in Sri Lankan waters, which had been, and still was, tearing up the seafloor, illegally digging for seafood treasures (Vox, 2019).

This moment is arguably the real start of the Palk Strait fishing conflict. Developments in India and the civil war in Sri Lanka led to the conflict, as it gave India both the resources and the opportunity to fish in Sri Lankan waters. Also, India was indeed fishing in Sri Lankan waters way before 2009. However, the true conflict began when both parties were aware of this.

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In conclusion, Indian policies aimed at stimulating the economy created a strong Indian trawler fleet and thereby created a dualistic structure in the Palk Strait. During the civil war, the political situation in Sri Lanka and the additional policy on fishing bans created a space in which India started fishing on the Sri Lankan side of the Palk Strait maritime boundary line. These developments led to the true start of the conflict in 2009 when Sri Lankan fishers returned to the Palk Strait after the war.

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5. Important conflict developments since 2009

In this next chapter, the findings in accordance with the second sub-question will be presented. This sub-question is: What are the most important developments in the Palk Strait fishing conflict since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009? As previously discussed, this sub-question was researched in two different regions: the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna region of northern Sri Lanka. Also, this sub-question includes developments in the interactions between both regions.

5.1 Interactions between Indian and Sri Lankan stakeholders.

First, this chapter will dive into a crucial interaction between India and Sri Lanka, which will form a basis for understanding the developments later on in the timeline. In 2011, on the 8th of June, the Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously decided to impose economic sanctions against Sri Lanka due to alleged human rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan navy. Furthermore, the resolution included pressing the United Nations to declare those guilty of the alleged human rights violations as war criminals (MPIDSA, n.d.).

According to Scholtens et al. (2013), this resolution led to a crucial development in the relationship between India and Sri Lanka: India had declared Sri Lanka as an enemy state. This statement formed the foundation for the further development of the conflict, with India and Sri Lanka officially no longer being partners.

5.2 Developments in Tamil Nadu, India.

Scientific literature (Scholtens & Bavinck, 2018) and news sources (Tamil Guardian, 2014) both report a hunger strike among fishers from Tamil Nadu, India. The aim was to push for new negotiations surrounding the conflict. The hunger strike led to two new dialogue meetings in 2014 (Scholtens & Bavinck, 2018). According to the Tamil Guardian (2014), the strike was mainly

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aimed at the Sri Lankan navy. The reason behind this was the increasing amounts of arrests of Indian fishers and the trawlers that the navy had taken into custody. The chief minister of Tamil Nadu even described the actions by the Sri Lankan navy as “a deliberate strategy of the Sri Lankan government to destroy primary means of livelihood of Indian fishermen” (Tamil Guardian, 2014). Besides angered fishers in Tamil Nadu, the arrested fishermen also went on a hunger strike in 2014. To be exact, 38 Indian fishermen incarcerated in the Jaffna prison went on a hunger strike, demanding their release (TamilNet, 2014).

These events among Indian fishers from Tamil Nadu show a clear shift at the core of the Palk Strait fishing conflict. Before, the problem definition of the conflict was more simple: Indian fishers were fishing in Sri Lankan waters, endangering the livelihoods of many in the Jaffna region. However, the role of the ‘victim’ in this conflict has shifted since then. The increasing intervention by the Sri Lankan navy led to an increased impact on fishers from Tamil Nadu through incarcerations and seizures of boats. This has changed the narrative of guilt within the conflict. This is crucial to the development of the conflict, as there are now two completely different understandings of the victim in the conflict.

5.3 Developments in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Three years later, on the 6th of July in 2017, to be exact, the Sri Lankan parliament passed the Amendment to the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources act. This law declared the method of fishing by bottom trawling as a punishable offense. The consequences for trawling could lead up to two years in prison and a fine of Rs. 50.000, which is around 209 Euros (Study IQ, 2017). This act has been crucial in the further development of the conflict. Before, bottom trawling was harmful to the Palk Strait and the livelihoods of Sri Lankan fishers. However, this law changed the narrative on bottom trawling. No longer is it solely unsustainable and anti-social behavior at the

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hands of fishermen from Tamil Nadu. It is now punishable by law. Even though the Sri Lankan navy had already intervened in an attempt to stop bottom trawling through incarcerations and seizures, there was now a judicial basis for these actions.

Interestingly, the amounts of arrests in the Palk Strait severely declined after 2017. The figure below is based on statistics from the Indian government (BRON). It shows the (known) arrests made by the Sri Lankan navy from 2010 until 2019. Arguably, the Amendment to the Fisheries and Aquatic Resource act and its consequential punishment may have scared away some fishermen from Tamil Nadu. Furthermore, the figure explains the developments in India around 2014, concerning the reason behind the hunger strikes. One can clearly see a spike in the amounts of arrests in 2014 and the years leading up to it.

Amounts of fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan navy, 2010-2019

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Fishermen arrests 2010-2019

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6. Media coverage and human rights violations

This chapter will discuss recent coverage on the Palk Strait fishing conflict from media sources to research the following sub-question: What does recent media coverage on the Palk Strait fishing conflict say about the development of the conflict? The aim here is to discover the narrative used when discussing the conflict in the news and analyze its impact on the public opinion on the conflict. Also, the results from this chapter will lead to conclusions on how the problem definition of the conflict has developed in more recent years.

As previously discussed, the intrusion of the Indian trawler fleet into Sri Lankan waters in the Palk Strait led the Sri Lankan Navy to respond. This response often meant the torture, arrest, and occasionally the death of Indian fishers, as well as the seizure of their boats. According to Indian sources, these actions are gross human rights violations against Indian fishers (Krishnan & Pichaandy, 2018).

The titles of recent (online) articles on the issues in the Palk Strait give a clear insight into the used narrative when discussing the conflict. The following are four headings of online articles, all from Indian news sources, covering the conflict.

▪ “Sri Lankan navy arrests 54 Indian fishermen, seizes 5 trawlers” (India Today, 2021).

▪ “Sri Lankan Navy arrests 20 Indian fishermen” (Times of India, 2021). ▪ “Sri Lanka’s navy detains 86 Indian fishermen” (Tamil Guardian, 2021). ▪ “Sri Lankan Navy arrests 54 fishermen from State” (The Hindu, 2021).

Interestingly, the object and subject division in these headings says a lot about the narrative behind them. A subject is the person, place, or thing that performs the action, whereas an object receives this action. In these article titles, the Sri Lankan Navy is always the subject in the sentence,

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whereas the Indian fishers are always the object. This division gives readers the impression that the Sri Lankan Navy is actively destroying the lives of defenseless Indian fishers. This form of framing in the media doesn’t do justice to the whole story of the issues in the Palk Strait. While the sentences are factually and grammatically correct, they insinuate a passive role of the Indian fishermen in the whole ordeal.

Another interesting thing in these articles, aside from subject/object division, is the language used in the text. According to the news website India.com, the “Sri Lankan Navy Arrests 20 Indian Fishermen For ‘Trespassing’” (2021). The air quotes around the word trespassing insinuate that these Indian fishermen may not have been guilty of anything in the first place. The Hindu (2021) also made use of air quotes when discussing these issues, stating that: “the Sri Lankan Navy said the ‘illegal entry’ of foreign fishermen into Sri Lankan waters and the use of prohibited fishing methods ‘seriously threatened’ the island’s marine ecosystem and endangered the livelihood of fishermen living in the north.” The air quotes portray the author’s doubts on whether the Indian fishermen were entering Sri Lankan waters illegally and whether these actions pose a severe threat to Sri Lankan fishers. Also, one word often appears in these articles, which says a lot about the used narrative. This word is ‘alleged.’ The Times of India (2021) reports that “The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 20 Indian fishermen and detained two boats for allegedly fishing in that country’s waters”.

In conclusion, recent media coverage on the issues in the Palk Strait shows a shift in the perception of victimization in the conflict. The Sri Lankan Navy is portrayed as an active villain and Indian fishers as passive victims. Also, readers are made to doubt certain facts due to specific language use and air quotes. Lastly, these articles only include these two stakeholders but don’t report on Sri Lankan fishers or Indian authority figures. The actions by the Sri Lankan Navy are

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argued to be gross human rights violations, which in many cases can’t be denied. However, this portrayal of the conflict is not complete.

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7. Attempts at conflict resolution

In this chapter, the findings on previous attempts at conflict resolution in the Palk Strait will be discussed, based upon the fourth sub-question of this research: What attempts have there been at conflict resolution in the Palk Strait and what can be learned from them? These findings consist of two intervention projects (7.1 & 7.2), with one project using a bottom-up approach, and the other more top-down. Later, a more practical solution to the issues in the Palk Strait (7.3) will be discussed. To conclude this chapter, the lessons that can be learned from these interventions and ideas will be considered.

7.1 REINCORPFISH project

Firstly, the REINCORPFISH project will be discussed, which was founded by Maarten Bavinck, who supervised and accompanied this thesis project. The REINCORPFISH project started in 2010, working together with academics and activists in both India and Sri Lanka (Scholtens & Bavinck, 2012). The project focused on the Palk Strait fishing conflict as well as a similar issue in South Africa, but this chapter will focus solely on the project’s accomplishments in the Palk Strait, which is most relevant to this research. REINCORPFISH emphasized on the processes behind conflict resolution, negotiation and institution-building in Sri Lanka and India (Mare Centre, n.d.). The idea behind the project was to tackle the issues from a bottom-up approach. The theory behind this approach was that the Tamil Nadu and Northern Sri Lankan fishermen have a lot in common. They both share a language, a profession, and an ethno-political identity. Therefore, there should be enough common ground for a dialogue between the two groups (Scholtens & Bavinck, 2012).

In order to further understand the project, an interview has been held with Maarten Bavinck. This interview was held in Dutch, but has been translated into English in order to align with the

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main language of this research. According to Bavinck (2021), the REINCORPFISH project has had some significant successes. “We have accomplished a greater understanding of what the

conflict is truly about, because we created a clearer image of the issues on both the Indian and the Sri Lankan side. Eventually, this project added to the realization of the Sri Lankan government, that the Tamil fishermen from Jaffna are also Sri Lankan citizens.” This shows a larger problem

previous to the REINCORPFISH project. According to Bavinck (2021), these fishers were, for a long time, not acknowledged as true Sri Lankans. “They were seen, by the government, as part of

the Tamil ethnic group. Also, many fishermen had joined the guerilla during the civil war. This led to a sentiment with the Sri Lankan government of: this is not our issue. In fact, you could say that the government didn’t truly see these fishers as citizens of Sri Lanka.” A great accomplishment of

the REINCORPFISH project is, therefore, adding to the acknowledgement of the Tamil fishermen from Jaffna. Furthermore, the project led to more media-attention on both sides of the conflict.

“There has been an increase in media-attention, on both the Sri Lankan and the Indian side. This has added to new initiatives aimed at finding solutions for the issue.” (Bavinck, 2021).

7.2 Joint Working Group on Fisheries

Secondly, another intervention project will be discussed. Whereas the REINCORPFISH project was mainly a bottom-up approach, this next intervention was more top-down. On the 5th_of

November in 2016, the Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj met with the Sri Lankan foreign affairs minister Mangala Samaraweera in New Delhi. During this meeting, the decision was made to set up a Joint Working Group on Fisheries (JWG). The aim was to reach a permanent solution to the issues in the Palk Strait. The main aim was to increase communication on the conflict between authorities on both sides. Therefore, it was decided that the JWG would come together once every three months, and the Indian and Sri Lankan ministers of Fisheries were to

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come together every six months. Also, the project aims at ending the practice of bottom trawling as soon as possible, as well as releasing and protecting fishermen (The Hindu, 2016).

Sadly, The Hindu (2016) also reports that there were no successful agreements on practical solutions through policies. India offered a deal for an 85 day a year allowance for Indian boats to fish in Sri Lankan waters, in order to help with the transition into the ending of bottom-trawling. However, this offer was rejected. Sri Lankan fishermen demanded an immediate end to bottom-trawling in Sri Lankan waters, and also refused to return the Indian trawlers which had been seized by the Sri Lankan navy.

7.3 Deep-sea fishing: a practical solution?

The third and last attempt at conflict resolution to be discussed is a more practical solution against the issues in the Palk Strait. This is the campaign for deep-sea fishing as an alternative to the troublesome trawling techniques which are still being used. Deep-sea fishing has always been part of the Indian Blue Revolution plans, which also instigated the use of bottom-trawling techniques before. The central Indian government and the local Tamil Nadu government plan to provide 500 deep-sea fishing boats with long lines and gill nets this year as a part of a plan to replace 2.000 trawlers in three years. Prime minister Narendra Modi formally launched the project to promote deep-sea fishing among Ramanathapuram fishermen by handing over work orders to five fishermen from the construction of tuna long-liners with gill nets. This transition will benefit nearly 14.000 fishermen active in the Palk Strait. So far, more than 1.000 fishermen from Kanniyakumari and Nagapattinam districts have registered with the authorities for deep-sea fishing (Menon & Stephen, 2017). On the 8th_{of September in 2017, the Tamil Nadu Fisheries University}

(TNFU) organized a one-day workshop in Chennai on deep-sea fishing. The aim of this workshop was to promote deep-sea fishing as a promising alternative to trawling in the Palk Bay. Those in

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favor of the transition argue that deep-sea fishing could potentially lead to a much better catch in far-off seas. Also, a main argument made is the avoidance of the risks of cross-border fishing in the Sri Lankan waters of the Palk Strait (STUDY IQ, 2017).

However, there are some challenges to this fishing technique. Will there be sufficient stock of fish in the adjacent waters of the Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Manmar to make deep sea fishing economically viable for a large and new fleet of vessels? Will the trawl fishers from the Palk Strait have sufficient skill and interest needed for deep-sea fishing? (Menon & Stephen, 2017). Will the provided equipment and facilities be enough? Will the new market for tuna ensure fishers with enough sales? (Bavinck, 2017).

A main issue, according to Bavinck (2017), is the uncertainty of the size and location of the new stock. Fish stocks, especially in deeper waters, are trans boundary. This means that fish travel throughout the ocean with complete disregard for maritime boundary lines. This, in combination with the uncertainty about the market chances for tuna, create a risk for Tamil Nadu fishers once transitioned into deep-sea fishing. Furthermore, fishing in further oceans could lead to new conflicts on fishing rights, as the deeper oceans are shared with many more countries than Sri Lanka alone.

Whether deep sea fishing will truly reduce the Palk Bay fishing conflict, depends entirely on the downsizing of the existing trawl fleet. Monitoring this will be crucial. Investing in and transitioning into deep-sea fishing could work, as long as it will truly become an alternative, to trawling techniques. An addition to trawling techniques would not help the conflict in any way.

7.4 Lessons learned

These three interventions say a lot about the issues of the Palk Strait, especially when looking at future negotiations for conflict resolution. The REINCORPFISH project was very

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successful in creating a better understanding about and more attention to the Palk Strait conflict. This has formed an important foundation for future negotiations for conflict resolution. However, this bottom-up approach will not be enough to resolve the conflict.

On the other hand, the Joint Working Group on Fisheries (JWG) took a more top-down approach. In this project, authorities started communicating better, but fishermen are still left out of the discussion. A main aim of the JWG was to end bottom trawling, which still ensures the livelihoods of many fishermen from Tamil Nadu. It is understandable and preferable to want to end bottom-trawling, but fishermen should be compensated for this transition.

This compensation for Indian fishermen does occur in the plans for deep-sea fishing, which is a good thing. However, there is still a lot of research to be done on the locations, markets and willingness for deep-sea fishing, in order for the plan to work.

In conclusion, a future plan for conflict resolution in the Palk Strait should include aspects from the REINCORPFISH project, the JWG, and the plans for deep-sea fishing. It should be both bottom-up approaches, to include those truly impacted by the conflict, as well as top-down approaches, in order to reach practical policies on how to implement the conflict resolution. Besides these two approaches, fishermen from Tamil Nadu should be protected during the transition away from bottom-trawling. This could be deep-sea fishing, under the condition of more research on the risks of the plans.

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8. Visual conflict development

The findings in the previous chapters are all relevant to the overall development of the Palk Strait fishing conflict. However, it has become clear how increasingly complex the conflict really is. Therefore, this chapter uses a visual aid to simplify the developments. A graph will present the fish production in the Palk Strait, compared between India and Sri Lanka. This graph can be used to understand where the conflict stood at a certain period of time, as any conflict development has influenced the yield.

In the graph, the Indian and Sri Lankan fishing yield from the Palk Strait can be seen. This graph has been built upon a previous graph by Scholtens et al. (2012), which was previously dated until 2010. In order to better understand the development of the conflict after 2010 as well, this research has updated the data until 2020. On the Sri Lankan side, this data was retrieved from the Sri Lankan Department of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources (2020). The data on production in India, however, was much more difficult to find. India doesn’t publish the data on production per district, but per state. Hence, only the production value in all of Tamil Nadu have been retrieved. According to Scholtens (2021), approximately one third of Tamil Nadu fish production comes from the Palk Strait. Therefore, the updated line on Indian production values is an estimate, calculated as one third of the state-wide yield for that year. It may not show the yield with absolute certainty, but there are still some conclusions to be made from this graph.

First of all, the graph shows a great decline in maritime production in Sri Lankan between 1983 and 2009, which was during the Sri Lankan civil war and the fishing ban. It is interesting that the graph shows India rising in production during this exact time, which in when the Indian fleet started to fish in Sri Lankan waters as well as their own.

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Furthermore, the graph shows a huge spike in production after the war ended. This spike in Sri Lankan production was expected, as the fishing ban was finally lifted. However, the Indian production seems to increase during this time as well. This shows that the Indian fleet continued to fish in Sri Lankan waters after the civil war ended which, in turn, led to the many fishermen arrests at the hands of the Sri Lankan navy.

Even though the green line representing the Indian yield in the Palk Strait after 2010 is an estimate, it still shows that the production keeps increasing, on both sides of the strait. This leads to the conclusion that a practical solution to the conflict, such as deep-sea fishing, has become increasingly crucial. After all, the Palk Strait alone won’t be able to provide such yields indefinitely.

To conclude this chapter, the graph, displayed on the following page, tells a story. However, this story can only be read with an extensive understanding of the conflict and how it has evolved. This study urges future research to keep updating this graph, and to use it as a tool to explain future development of the issues in the Palk Strait.

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9. Discussions

This chapter aims to clarify the connection between the results presented in chapters four to nine and the theoretical framework in chapter two. This connection will assert the relevance of this research against the backdrop of the discussions presented in the theoretical framework.

The theoretical framework consisted of two sections, the first describing global developmental trends underlying the issues in the Palk Strait. These trends included population growth, urbanization, food demand, and globalization. As argued in the theoretical framework, population growth and urbanization have significantly strained the food industry due to the increased demand for food. In a non-globalized world, this would have only impacted local food industries. However, due to globalization, the strains on the food industry could be anywhere. Chapter four describes the origin of the Palk Strait conflict and concludes that the financial crisis in India in the 1960s indirectly started the conflict. The Indian government, stimulated by Norway, decided to aim for more export of fish products in order to combat the financial crisis. This meant that the Indian fishing industry had to increase its production. In conclusion, population growth and urbanization spiked the demand for food worldwide, and globalization put the responsibility of keeping up with this growing demand on specific food industries.

The impacts of population growth, urbanization, growing food demand, and globalization arguably created a situation in which the Indian aquaculture industry had no choice but to turn to the unsustainable yet production-effective trawling method. This relates to the second section of the theoretical framework: context-specific terms. Two important concepts to discuss here are mechanization and subsequently techno-economic dualism. The government subsidies allowing Indian fishers to invest in trawler boats were a form of mechanization. This transition gave the Indian fleet a techno-economic advantage over the Sri Lankan fishers in the Palk Strait, creating a

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dualistic structure in the Palk Strait. Bottom trawling is an intensive fishing method that leads to fish depletion. This, just like the previously discussed developmental trends, puts a strain on the fishing industry. When it becomes increasingly hard to fish in one’s own territory, crossing marine boundary lines becomes increasingly likely. Fishers need enough catch to remain financially stable and provide for their families, after all. In conclusion, the discussed developmental trends led to the introduction of trawling, which in turn led to Indian fishers crossing over into Sri Lankan waters as a result of fish depletion.

Furthermore, the first section of the theoretical framework also discussed transnationalism and legal pluralism. These issues started to apply to the Palk Strait the moment Indian fishers invaded Sri Lankan waters during the civil war. These Indian fishers were now in a region with a different legal system than their own. This eventually gave the opportunity for the Sri Lankan navy to interfere in the conflict, leading to the arrests of fishers and the seizure of boats, which has been described in chapters five and six. The Amendment to the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources act in 2017 officially made trawling a punishable offense. India never applied such an act, which created a situation of legal pluralism in the Palk Strait. The issues resulting from legal pluralism, in this case, had a huge impact on the development of the conflict. The interference by the Sri Lankan Navy completely shifted the problem definition of and the public opinion on the Palk Strait fishing conflict. This shift has included more stakeholders and more views, making it increasingly difficult to resolve the conflict.

To conclude this chapter, it appears that the discussions in the theoretical framework mainly relate to chapter four: the origin of the conflict. To summarize: Population growth and urbanization led to an increased food demand; This growing demand for food in combination with globalization stimulated the Indian fishing industry to increase its production and focus on exports; In order to

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increase production, mechanization in the form of trawling was promoted by the government; The transition into bottom-trawling led to fish depletion in the Palk Strait and subsequently to Indian fishers crossing the maritime boundary lines; This eventually created a dualistic structure in the Palk Strait. The developmental trends from the theoretical framework caused a chain reaction, eventually leading to the Palk Strait fishing conflict. This shows the relevance of this research greatly. It is crucial to remember that these developmental trends happen globally, and therefore could cause such chain reactions in other parts of the world. Fishing disputes such as in the Palk Strait are likely to occur more in the future due to population growth, urbanization, growing food demand, and globalization.

The Western world relies too much on food products from other countries. This reliance puts great pressure on food industries from those countries to increase production. This pressure can lead to unsustainable fishing methods such as trawling, and even a violent conflict in the area, as we see in the Palk Strait. Therefore, this research stresses the importance of localization within the food chain to relieve some of the pressure on food industries, such as the fishing industry in the Palk Strait. If not, the occurrence of conflicts such as this one will only increase in the future. If not, the occurrence of conflicts such as this one will likely only increase in the future.

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10. Conclusions

This chapter will first review the conclusions drawn from the four sub-questions in this research, to then use these findings to answer the main research question.

Firstly, this research dove into the origin of the Palk Strait fishing conflict: How, when, and why did the Palk Strait fishing conflict start? So, why did it start? According to the findings in this research, the Indian financial crisis in the 1960s led to an increase in aquaculture ambitions, realized through government interference and subsidies for trawler boats. The introduction of trawling caused a dualistic structure in the Palk Strait, which underlies the conflict. How did the conflict eventually erupt? The Sri Lankan civil war created the opportunity for Indian fleets to cross the maritime boundary line, which caused the conflict to truly start with the return of Sri Lankan fishermen in 2009, which answers the question of 'when.'

Secondly, conflict developments since 2009 have been researched, following the sub-question: What are the most important developments in the Palk Strait fishing conflict since the end of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009? According to the findings in this research, India declaring Sri Lanka as an enemy state in 2011 set the tone for the further development of the conflict, which quickly became more heated. These rising tensions became clear during the Tamil Nadu fishermen's hunger strike in 2014, which showed an important development in the conflict concerning the narrative of the victims of the conflict. Whereas before, the Sri Lankan fishermen were seen as the victim, the Sri Lankan navy's actions shifted this narrative. Also, the Amendment to the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources act in 2017 shifted the conflict towards a legal issue. This development was crucial, as it increased the power of the Sri Lankan navy to take action.

Third, the role of media coverage on the conflict has been researched, following the sub-question: What does recent media coverage on the Palk Strait fishing conflict say about the

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development of the conflict? Most media coverage on the conflict reports on the violence against, and therefore the victimization of Tamil Nadu fishers. This leads to a simple conclusion: recent media coverage on the conflict shows a clear shift in narrative and, therefore, a change in how guilt and responsibility are discussed. These articles, while factually accurate, don't do justice to the complexity of this conflict.

Lastly, this research collected data on previous attempts at conflict resolution in the Palk Strait and analyzed this data to draw lessons from these interventions. This sub-question was: What attempts have there been at conflict resolution and what can be learned from them? In this chapter, three attempts at conflict resolution have been discussed:

• the REINCORPFISH project

• the Joint Working Group on Fisheries (JWG) • the practical alternative of deep-sea fishing

All three projects had their strengths and weaknesses. The REINCORPFISH project took a bottom-up approach, including fishermen themselves, whereas the JWG took a more top-down approach which started a conversation between authorities. Both approaches are necessary for future negotiations and even complement each other. As they are the true victims of the conflict, fishers should be heard, but authorities must implement actual policies of change. Lastly, the campaign for deep-sea fishing as an alternative to trawling, aside from its uncertainties for success, shows the necessity for a practical solution. Fishing, specifically trawling, has to be reduced in the Palk Strait, which requires a good alternative to protect fishers.

Now, to reflect on the main research question: How has the Palk Strait conflict developed over time? The main change has been in the perception of victimization in the conflict. At the beginning of the conflict, fishers from Jaffna, Sri Lanka, were seen as the true victims. They lived

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through a terrible civil war, endured a fishing ban, only to find their waters invaded and their stocks depleted after the war finally ended in 2009. However, this narrative changed very quickly, mainly due to the actions of the Sri Lankan Navy and the way the media reported on this. Sri Lanka is argued to be at fault due to the incarcerations of Indian fishermen and the seizure of their boats. This, in turn, had a huge impact on negotiations for conflict resolution. India became more hostile against Sri Lanka regarding the conflict, stating that the actions of the Navy were "a deliberate strategy of the Sri Lankan government to destroy primary means of livelihood of Indian fishermen." While it is true that fishers from Tamil Nadu became increasingly victimized, this doesn't take away from the impacts on Sri Lankan fishers. And that is what is often forgotten when discussing the conflict today. Also, government authorities have become increasingly involved in the conflict. The REINCORPFISH project added to the acknowledgment of Jaffna fishers by the government, but the JWG showed that both governments haven't been able to resolve their issues together successfully. These developments, the changing role of the victim and the increasing role of authorities, mean that conflict resolution in the future will have to include both a bottom-up and a top-down approach.

Furthermore, the conflict has only become increasingly difficult to resolve due to a spike in production on both sides of the Palk Strait. This development shows the importance of a conclusion on previous attempts at conflict resolution, that a practical alternative to fishing in the Palk Strait is crucial. The current amount of production in the strait will inevitably lead to crossing marine boundary lines and, therefore, the continuance of this conflict. Hence, a new location or technique for fishing needs to be implemented to resolve the conflict while still protecting the livelihoods of fishers.

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This research has truly been a stepping stone towards conflict resolution in the Palk Strait, as the title states. Only through the understanding of the changes within the conflict over the last decades can conflict resolution become a reality. However, the knowledge provided in this research is only that, a stepping stone, as true conflict resolution will require much further research.

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Stepping stones towards conflict resolution in the Palk Strait

An Updated View on the Fisheries Conflict Between India and Sri Lanka

Abstract

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

Fishermen arrests 2010-2019

References