TN, AP fishermen agree on GPS-based demarcation to end Pulicat Lake fishing feud

TIRUVALLUR: Representatives of 25 fishing hamlets from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh unanimously resolved to discard age-old boundary markers in favour of modern technology, urging both state officials to implement a permanent GPS tracking mechanism to clearly delineate inter-state fishing zones, a source said on Monday.

The representatives put forth this suggestion agreeing for the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) to demarcate the brackish-water Pulicat Lake, at a joint meeting of officials of both the southern states held at Gummidipoondi Panchayat Union Office, about 45 km from Chennai.

Officials from both the states convened the joint meeting on Saturday to address the long-standing territorial and fishing disputes in the Pulicat Lake area.

The talks coincide with ongoing central government interventions aimed at addressing the root economic trigger of these clashes - dwindling aquatic resources.

Following representations by Tirupati MP Maddila Gurumoorthy, the Union Fisheries Ministry is executing a Rs 133.11 crore project to open and stabilise the Rayadoruvu sea mouth.

The representatives had expressed that the palmyrah tree trunks traditionally used as water-bound border markers rot in the saltwater, leading to frequent boundary confusion and disputes between the fishermen of the two states.

Besides the local fishermen representatives, MLAs from Ponneri and Sulurpetta in Andhra Pradesh, Tiruvallur district collector S Kavitha and Tirupati district additional collector R Govinda Rao, participated in the meeting.

Instead of attempting to place fixed physical markers inside the shifting waters of Pulicat Lake, the proposed technological framework shifts accountability directly to the fishing vessels.

Motorised and traditional boats operating across the lake will be fitted with automated GPS transponders. Agencies like the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) will establish exact digital maritime coordinates and boats approaching or breaching the boundary line will trigger real-time alerts on board and notify Marine Police control rooms in both Tiruvallur and Tirupati, it was suggested.

The deployment aligns with pending amendments to the Tamil Nadu Marine Fisheries Regulation Act, which will make intentionally disabling or tampering with a vessel's transponder a criminal offense, the official pointed out.

At the meeting, community leaders emphasised that a decade-old legacy of violence - tracing back to an April 2014 clash where homes, boats, and nets in Tamil Nadu’s Chinna Mangodu village were set ablaze - must be resolved.

With 199 police cases still actively pending against Tamil Nadu fishermen, local fleets have strictly refrained from venturing into waters under neighbouring Andhra Pradesh jurisdiction for over 10 years out of fear of arrest or fresh conflict.

The representatives made it clear that full peace will require both state governments to fast-track or mutually withdraw these pending charges.

Severe siltation and low summer water levels routinely choke the lake's inlets, restricting marine migration and forcing fishermen from both states to compete in crowded, shallow waters. Opening the sea mouth is expected to replenish fish stocks and significantly curb cross-border poaching friction, it was said.