மன்னார் கண்ணீர்க் கடல் (தடாகம்/2015 ) The GORDIAN KNOT (mainSpring / 2018)

The Gulf of Mannar, marked as the fifth most significant marine biodiversity hot spot with over 3600 marine flora and fauna including 103 corals, 16 swimming crabs, sea grass and marine mammals and over 500 piscine species, pearl oysters and chanks. On the western side it is bordered by the Pearl fishery coast that stretches between Kanyakumari and Dhanushkodi. Fishermen from 137 fishing hamlets of five districts from Tamil Nadu depend on this once pristine environment.

  

Public perception of the Rameswaram fishermen issue is wha the media chooses to present and is far from reality. The livelihood and habitation of the traditional fishermen along the coastal stretch of Tamil Nadu are plundered every day by corporates in the name of mega projects. Transcending the governmental projects, the constructs and political discourse about the fishermen and the media hype, the author has attempted to find out what is actually happening in the Island. He made short stays in Tamil Nadu coast from Pazhaverkadu to Neerodi. The scope of this mission was to form a first hand view of the ecology of our seas and sea coasts and the ethnic communities that depend thereof. He has consistently recorded the plight of the subaltern through visits to Ramnad coast during the perid between 2008 and 2014.

An uneasy equation of bread and blood has been thrust up on the Gulf of Mannar. The livelihood of the traditional fishermen is in the grip of big investors and corporates who have no connection with the sea at all. The coastal leadership, political parties and the media have become the agents and handmaidens of these rich men and planned propagandas have been unleashed. It is these hapless artisans who are being sacrificed in mid sea every day.’From the time when they began sieving out fries and under sized chanks, the ecology and fishery of the Gulf of Mannar began to collapse’, says Kevikumar (28, Kadayar), of Olaikuda.’ ‘Even if twin trawlers and purse seines are given up forthwith, one has got a lot of alternatives- gill netting or long lining… If people are not avaricious, everybody can thrive here.’, holds Muthukumar (38, Valayar) from Paalam. An activist from Thangachchimadam claims, ‘Ninety percent of the problems in the island will be solved once trawling is stopped’.

The book is the product of the author’s conscious search of the realities of the coastal subaltern, keeping the above question in the forefront. This is an alternative voice, trying to reveal the hidden faces of a familiar problem. Back ground information on the study area and some fishing methods are provided to enlighten the reader on the the pristine ecology of this marine biosphere. The book is a plank for constructive transactions.