Conflict over fishing is a major point of dispute between India and Sri Lanka

Recently, Sri Lanka amended its Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act, making it illegal for fishermen to operate or own a boat engaged in bottom trawling.

Despite fish workers in the southern coastal districts of Tamil Nadu withdrawing their indefinite strike and resuming work last week following assurances from chief minister MK Stalin, the situation remains tense.

The need for immediate action to address their safety concerns is palpable in Rameswaram and other major fish landing centres across the region.

Compared to India's contentious land borders, which follow some of the world's most active geopolitical fault lines, the Palk Strait remained tranquil until the 1980s. At its narrowest point, there are 18 miles of open water between the Sri Lankan island of Mannar and the Indian island of Rameswaram, which thrusts eastward into the strait like a stiletto and remains the flash point.

Now, as the number of boats on the strait increases and climate change adversely affects the environment, fishermen from both countries have fewer fish to catch.

Tensions have remained high in the Palk Strait since 1983, a year that marked a turning point for Sri Lanka. It plunged into a three-decade-long civil war, pitting its Sinhalese majority in the south against the Tamil minority in the north. This historical context adds weight to the current conflict over prawn fishing.

The civil war ended in 2009 with the assassination of LTTE chief V Prabhakaran. The problems faced by the Indian fishermen, however, remain despite New Delhi repeatedly taking up the issue with Colombo.

Indian fishermen have been subjected to repeated arrests and subsequent legal remands by the Sri Lankan navy, which accuses the Indian fish workers of violating the International Maritime Border Line and fishing in Sri Lankan waters. The navy's major complaint has been that Indian fishermen fish with trawlers, which are prohibited in the island nation.

 “The first and most important thing that India needs to do is take strong diplomatic action and demand, in no uncertain terms, that our fishermen be released immediately. Second, our fishermen should not use the prohibited trawlers in Sri Lankan waters. They should also honour the Blue Resolution, which stands for modern deep-sea fishing that does not impact the marine wealth of Sri Lankan waters,'' said A P Lipton, retired principal scientist with the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute.He suggested forming a Palk Bay Authority (PBA) that would include marine biologists, fishing experts, government representatives, and other relevant experts.

Although bottom trawling is banned in Sri Lanka, it is still practised in India. The Indian government incentivises this method with subsidies due to its productivity and ability to earn foreign exchange.

According to A Bijukumar, a marine scientist based in Thiruvananthapuram, the government must convince large trawling corporations to switch to more environmentally friendly fishing methods. Recently, Sri Lanka amended its Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act, making it illegal for fishermen to operate or own a boat engaged in bottom trawling. Violating this law carries a fine of Sri Lankan rupees 50,000 (US$155) and up to two years of imprisonment.

Ramanathapuram district collector Simranjeet Singh Kahlon said that the government is promoting alternative fishing methods within its territory, such as deep-sea fishing without trawlers. He added that consultations are ongoing with local fishermen to encourage the adoption of safer practices.