Mandapam

Sri Lankan Fisherman in a detention camp. They were arrested for fishing in Indian territorial waters.

Rameshwaram Fishing Harbour

Pamban

The humble hut where the surviving family of a fisherman who was killed in Sri Lankan Navy firing lives. 

Rameshwaram Fishing Harbour

A fishermen who works on a trawler is paid Rs. 1,000 per trip and this net bag of fish picked from the catch.

Jegathaipatanam Harbour, Pudukottai

Naam Thamilar (We are Tamil)

The danger about us not having a political will to support sustainable fishing methods in the Palk Strait is the rise of hate-mongers. Firstly, the only reason we are reporting the incidents is because of the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and the fisher-folks are a big vote bank.

Secondly, the debate is all about Sri Lankan Navy shooting and torturing Indian Fishermen and not about why Indian Fishermen are forced to go fish in dangerous waters in the first place.

But an alternative sustainable method of fishing is not easy to float. Any change in the current fishing methods would mean that a lot of fishermen are going to lose their livelihood. But if they don't...

Feeling angry is easy.

See the full series: Fishermen of Tamil Nadu.

The full pictures: Rohini Mohan for Tehelka.

Jegathaipattanam Harbour, Pudukottai

Attack of the Indian Armada.

Human greed, spearheaded is waging a successful battle to kill all life in the waters of the Palk Strait that separates India and Sri Lanka. But it's a war our soldiers, the fishermen, are going to lose.

We have already succeeded in converting the Indian side of the Strait into a lifeless desert with destructive trawling methods. Now our trawlers head out every day to destroy what still survives on the Sri Lankan side.

A civil war and a trawling ban has helped the fish on the other side survive, but only just. Three days a week, Indian trawlers are allowed to go for the kill thanks to an agreement with the Sri Lankans. But we are Indians and our greed is a Billion strong. We use destructive trawling methods, we fish on days when we are not allowed to, we use larger nets than what is allowed, we also use illegal high power boats that trawl at a higher speed than regular trawlers, to name a few methods of assured destruction. All thanks to the common god that all Indians believe in - corruption. In this case, it's the local fisheries department that allows us to bypass every rule for a price. And yes, we cannot ban trawling. It rakes in crores now but will make millions of fishermen starve in a few years time because the fishermen who are dredging their own watery graves are a large vote bank.

Yes, the fishermen know that they are killing all the fish for generations to come but it's the now that matters, not tomorrow. There are loans that allowed them to buy their powerful boats and nets to pay.

But why blame our fishermen? Isn't that exactly how we Indians treat everything we have. Make money now, let someone else worry about the future.

Who will save us from ourselves?




To get the full story, read Rohini Mohan's report on Tehelka here.

Pamban Village.

Pamban Village: Walls of a fisherman's hut.

That's the photograph of Sebastian, named after one of the favourite saints of fishermen in this part of the Indian coast. He was shot dead in 1994 by the Sri Lankan Navy. Those were the days of the civil war in Sri Lanka and most fishermen killed were listed under smugglers or weapon-traffickers. But Sebastian was a fisherman and is survived by his wife Ravina Rani who is now a tailor, working from home. You can see her foot-pedal sewing machine in the picture above.





The belongings of this home are all strung up from the poles that hold the thatch together. The clothes Ravina Rani stitches, the clothes the family wears, hay mats, everything.



The reason why everything is hung, is because the floor is pure East Coast Sand.


To know more about the story of Fishermen of South Eastern Tamil Nadu, read Rohini Mohan's report called The Bold Men and The Sea in Tehelka.

Rameshwaram Fishing Harbour

Navigation system on an Indian trawler.




Rameshwaram Fishing Harbour

Palk Straits (India-Sri Lanka)

Jegathaipattanam Fishing Harbour, India. Wives see their husbands off as they go to fish in the Palk Straits.

In Tehelka, Rohini Mohan investigates why 72 Tamil Nadu fishermen have been shot by the Sri Lankan Navy in the past six months fishing in these waters. Yet they keep going back to the same strip of sea. The full story:
http://tehelka.com/story_main48.asp?filename=Ne260211THE_BOLD.asp

This poster of the fisherman who was killed by SL Navy fishing in their waters remind the fishermen and their family of the dangers of fishing in troubled waters. A job that they are forced to do because excessive trawling has converted the Indian waters into a desert.