Kachchativu: Time for fresh perspective

RECENTLY, Kachchativu Island has attracted attention not only from fisherfolk of India and Sri Lanka but also from political leaders of both nations and the judiciary. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s visit to Kachchativu in September marked a significant milestone. For the first time in history, the leader of Sri Lanka expressed interest in the ongoing debate over the island—an issue settled decades ago after lengthy negotiations. Meanwhile, India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant, who was in Colombo just weeks before his appointment, while not explicitly mentioning Kachchativu or illegal fishing activities by Indian fishers in Sri Lankan waters, emphasised that environmental cooperation is not a matter of charity or diplomacy; it is a necessity for survival.

- By PATHFINDER FOUNDATION

It is now essential to shift the debate from profits and politics to science and sustainability.

Focusing on Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar, which are currently under severe stress from overfishing, destructive trawling, and unregulated coastal activities, as well as recurring confrontations between Indian trawlers and Sri Lankan fishers, he said the situation exemplifies a deeper ecological tragedy-competition for an exhausted resource base. Looking ahead, he added that. “The time has come for India and Sri Lanka to pioneer a regional model of environmental constitutionalism.” Among the suggestions he made were establishing a Joint Commission on Marine Ecology and creating data-sharing protocols for pollution and fisheries management between the two countries.

It has been over half a century since India and Sri Lanka established the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) through two bilateral agreements in 1974 and 1976. These agreements—signed, ratified, and recognised internationally—not only defined sovereign maritime boundaries but also definitively confirmed Sri Lanka’s ownership of Kachchativu Island once and for all. These two agreements did not provide for tradition-

al fishing rights for Indian fishermen to fish in Sri Lankan waters. Following these agreements, Sri Lankan fishermen withdrew from their traditional fishing grounds around the Wadge Bank, located south of Kanya Kumari and the southern part of Pedro Bank, north of the Jaffna Peninsula, which came under Indian control. However, Indian fishermen have continued to demand “traditional fishing rights” in Sri Lankan waters.