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J. Scholtens and M. Bavinck
strengthen the linkages between one section of the governing system and the
system to be governed.
Being membership organizations, boat owner associations exist by the grace of
being sensitive and adaptive to the interests of the people they represent. Although
these associations are not devoid of hierarchy, regular gatherings to discuss the
important matters of the moment ensure that the leaders incorporate feedback from
their members, and adjust their activities if popular opinion so requires.
Attunement to Demands from the System-to-Be-Governed
The section above presented four concerns that cause popular commotion and pose
clear demands on the governing system. The various agencies that make up the
governing system have reacted to each of them in various ways. In order to deal with
the ‘Sri Lankan issue’, the coast guard and the navy keep a continuous eye on Palk
Bay waters and the IMBL. Boat owner associations raise hue and cry if their members suffer violence in Sri Lankan waters, and attempt to pressurize state and central
level governments to take protective action. FD of fi cials are engaged in a variety of
welfare activities, such as care for the victims of violence in Sri Lankan waters.
In order to curb the con fl icts between trawler and small-scale fi shers in Tamil
Nadu, the government introduced the 3 nm rule, as well as the rule limiting trawling
to three alternate days. The State government has also responded to evidence of
over fi shing by banning several types of allegedly destructive nets, as well as installing a 45-day moratorium on trawling (Bavinck et al. 2008 ) . Finally, in order to
address the problems related to the decreasing pro fi tability of the trawling enterprise, the government launched a diesel subsidy scheme in 2004.
These examples point out that governing actors in the Palk Bay are, in a broad
sense, receptive to prevailing issues, and that responses materialize in one way or
another as well. Responsiveness, however, is not only about reacting, but also about
thinking ahead and being proactive. Below, we examine three governmental regulations to better understand this aspect of responsiveness.
Diesel Subsidy Scheme
In response to increasing diesel prices, the Tamil Nadu Government established a
subsidy scheme for fuel that reduced fi shing costs by 10–20%. These subsidies have
had a clear effect: the number of boat owners that went bankrupt and disposed of
their boats immediately decreased, resulting in the safe-guarding of thousands of
jobs in the Palk Bay trawler fi shery (Scholtens 2006 ) . Not everyone shared in the
ebullient mood though. Small-scale fi shers had been happy to see the trawler fl eet
slowly decreasing in size, a trend that would logically result in more breathing space
for their fi shery. Outside observers (Salagrama 2004 ) also questioned this scheme
from the perspective of ecosystem health, pointing to the incongruity of government
J. Scholtens and M. Bavinck
strengthen the linkages between one section of the governing system and the
system to be governed.
Being membership organizations, boat owner associations exist by the grace of
being sensitive and adaptive to the interests of the people they represent. Although
these associations are not devoid of hierarchy, regular gatherings to discuss the
important matters of the moment ensure that the leaders incorporate feedback from
their members, and adjust their activities if popular opinion so requires.
Attunement to Demands from the System-to-Be-Governed
The section above presented four concerns that cause popular commotion and pose
clear demands on the governing system. The various agencies that make up the
governing system have reacted to each of them in various ways. In order to deal with
the ‘Sri Lankan issue’, the coast guard and the navy keep a continuous eye on Palk
Bay waters and the IMBL. Boat owner associations raise hue and cry if their members suffer violence in Sri Lankan waters, and attempt to pressurize state and central
level governments to take protective action. FD of fi cials are engaged in a variety of
welfare activities, such as care for the victims of violence in Sri Lankan waters.
In order to curb the con fl icts between trawler and small-scale fi shers in Tamil
Nadu, the government introduced the 3 nm rule, as well as the rule limiting trawling
to three alternate days. The State government has also responded to evidence of
over fi shing by banning several types of allegedly destructive nets, as well as installing a 45-day moratorium on trawling (Bavinck et al. 2008 ) . Finally, in order to
address the problems related to the decreasing pro fi tability of the trawling enterprise, the government launched a diesel subsidy scheme in 2004.
These examples point out that governing actors in the Palk Bay are, in a broad
sense, receptive to prevailing issues, and that responses materialize in one way or
another as well. Responsiveness, however, is not only about reacting, but also about
thinking ahead and being proactive. Below, we examine three governmental regulations to better understand this aspect of responsiveness.
Diesel Subsidy Scheme
In response to increasing diesel prices, the Tamil Nadu Government established a
subsidy scheme for fuel that reduced fi shing costs by 10–20%. These subsidies have
had a clear effect: the number of boat owners that went bankrupt and disposed of
their boats immediately decreased, resulting in the safe-guarding of thousands of
jobs in the Palk Bay trawler fi shery (Scholtens 2006 ) . Not everyone shared in the
ebullient mood though. Small-scale fi shers had been happy to see the trawler fl eet
slowly decreasing in size, a trend that would logically result in more breathing space
for their fi shery. Outside observers (Salagrama 2004 ) also questioned this scheme
from the perspective of ecosystem health, pointing to the incongruity of government