TN and AP fishermen fight over regulations

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu fishermen, who have been accusing the Sri Lankan naval personnel of the apprehension and attack in the Palk Strait region of Bay of Bengal, have come out with a fresh allegation about their Andhra Pradesh counterparts. They claim that the AP fishermen have been abducting the TN fishermen and seizing their boats in the Bay of Bengal at the North of Tamil Nadu.

At least 30 fishermen from Chennai, Nagapattinam and Tiruvallur districts have allegedly been abducted and assaulted by the Andhra fishermen last Saturday and Sunday.

K Ananthavelu, a representative of fishermen from Akkaraippettai fishing hamlet of Nagapattinam district said, “This is the first time something like this is happening. When a team of 19 fishermen from Thiruvallur, Chennai and Nagapattinam were fishing with their two mechanised boats in the sea near Chennpalayam coastal village of Nellore district in AP last Saturday, the AP fishers surrounded them. They attacked them and seized two mechanised boats. They repeated the same on Sunday – apprehending another mechanised boat and 11 fishermen.”

“We have informed State government and our officials have contacted Nellore district administration. After this thirty fishermen have been rescued from Chennapalayam on Monday. They are undergoing treatment in Rajiv Gandhi government hospital at Chennai since Wednesday,” Ananthavelu said. He said the TN fishermen moved to the northern part of Bay of Bengal as a trick to escape from SL navy which strikes in the southern parts of Bay of Bengal, the Palk Strait.

“But now AP fishermen have started to treat us as aliens. They demanded huge money after abducting our boats and men,” he said.

The Andhra fishermen in retaliation accuse the TN fishermen of using the banned highspeed engines in their boats and destroying their marine resources.

“We are keen to protect our marine resources and are very aware of it. The TN fishermen are using Chinese-made banned high-speed engines with 600 HP efficiency in their boats. We use just 200 to 300 HP engines. Due to the movement of high-speed engine boats of TN within 12 nautical miles of the coast near AP, our marine resources are in a threat. This is destroying our livelihoods,” said S Shivaji, former general secretary, Andhra Pradesh Fishers Association (APFA). Possibly because of this, some angry fishermen from our side could have indulged in such unwanted activities, he added.

Ananthavelu dismisses it as a baseless allegation. “Our fishermen go up to Gujarat and not attacked there. In fact, AP fishermen come up till Puducherry and still attack us.”

K Bharathi, president, South Indian Fishermen Association (SIFA) based at Chennai said there have been some issues in regulating the fishing activities in TN.