TN Govt to track movement of trawlers

The Tamil Nadu Government is working on a technical system to track and communicate with Indian fishing trawlers, with the aim of preventing them from straying into Sri Lankan waters and avoiding incidents involving the Sri Lankan Navy or the LTTE.

An official source, which did not want to be identified, told Express on Wednesday, that the technical and the funding aspects of the system were being discussed.

The system under consideration was an indigenous one, he added. The capture of the LTTE's Vidathalthivu naval cum logistical facility, expected in the next few weeks, could only have a "partial" impact on smuggling between the Tamil Nadu coast and Rameswaram for the LTTE, the source said.

This is because the LTTE-TN fishermen smuggler nexus can still use Nochikudah and places north of Vidathalthivu which are still under the control of the LTTE.

The source, however, maintained that smuggling was only a small part of the problem in the Palk Strait. The main problem is poaching for fish in Sri Lankan waters near the shoreline in strategically sensitive areas of Mannar and south Jaffna.

Since TN and Sri Lankan fishermen have, from time immemorial, fished in each other's waters in this narrow sea, TN fishermen do not think it is wrong to fish near Delft or Thalaimannar. But this gives a headache to the government's on the two sides, as they have to safeguard or respect the sovereign rights over territorial waters.

However, the Indian, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lankan authorities are working together with some understanding, within the constraints imposed by security imperatives and notions of sovereignty. They are, by and large, tolerant and kind to the straying or intruding fishermen.