Fishing trespasses: A legal insight for better economics = අනවසර ධීවර ඇතුළුවීම්: යහපත් ආර්ථිකයක් සඳහා නෛතික දැක්මක්

Abstract

The protracted dispute over fishing in the Palk Bay has been a feature of Indo-Lanka relations for decades. Both India and Sri Lanka regularly arrest fishermen for violating the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). An estimated 2,000 Indian mechanised bottom trawlers enter Sri Lankan waters each day on at least three days of the week. Currently, there are two proposals under consideration to solve the problem. The first is to better police the IMBL and the second is to introduce a licensing regime. This analysis explains why neither proposal actually solves the problem, and introduces a better alternative: imposing a total ban on mechanised bottom trawling.