Coast Guard line will force us to kill self

RAMANATHAPURAM: Fishermen in the district have warned that will be left with no other option but to commit suicide if the government imposes an order making it mandatory for them to net only in Indian waters. Reacting to the affidavit filed by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday seeking declaration of the Indo-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) as a ‘No Fishing Zone’, N J Bose, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Coastal Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association - Rameswaram, said that any such move would affect their livelihood as they cannot survive on meagre catch.U Arulanandham, State coordinator of the Alliance for the Release of Innocent Fishermen (ARIF), said that there were no boundary restrictions on fishing for many years until the civil war in Sri Lanka broke out.He also felt that fishermen should not be banned from entering Lankan waters as the fish population was limited in Indian waters.Kingkiston, leader of the Fishermen Association, Pamban, echoed Arulanandham’s view.Fishermen reasoned that they were forced to cross the IMBL as the distance between Rameswaram and Katchativu is only 11 nautical miles, beyond which the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) starts.They admitted to the Indian Coast Guard’s accusation that Tamil Nadu  fishermen violated Sri Lankan Fisheries law by using bottom trawling and monofilament nets in Lankan waters, but clarified that it was only some fishermen who were using the banned nets, and sought action against them.The fishermen also urged the government to convene bilateral talks with the Sri Lankan government to secure them rights for fishing in Lankan waters. Meanwhile, Deputy Director General (Operation and Coastal Security) Indian Coast Guard, Inspector General Murthy, filed a counter affidavit before the Madurai Bench of the the Madras High Court stating that the Indian fishermen could not be rescued as they were fishing in Lankan waters.Earlier, the Indian Coast Guard accused fishermen of sensationalising incidents of mid-sea attacks along the Indo-Sri Lankan International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and backed the theory of the Sri Lankan fishermen that their Tamil Nadu counterparts were exploiting the marine resources in the troubled waters of Palk Bay.