Sri Lanka Navy Arrests 34 Indian Fishermen For Unlawful Fishing

Colombo: The Sri Lankan Navy arrested no less than 34 Indian fishermen and seized three trawlers for unlawful fishing in two separate incidents, the authorities mentioned on Sunday. The fishermen have been arrested for unlawful fishing in two separate incidents on January 25 and 26, the Navy mentioned.

Each arrests got here off the coast of the northeastern Mannar district within the Navy’s continued common patrols within the Sri Lankan waters to curb unlawful fishing, the Navy mentioned. The arrested fishermen have been handed over to the related officers for additional motion.

The Indian Excessive Fee right here earlier this week mentioned some 41 Indian fishermen who had been equally arrested beforehand for poaching in Sri Lankan waters had been repatriated. On January 12, eight Indian fishermen had been arrested and two fishing trawlers had been seized.

The fishermen situation is a contentious one within the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen within the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in a number of alleged incidents of illegally getting into Sri Lankan territorial waters.

The Palk Strait, a slender strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a wealthy fishing floor for fishermen from each nations. Fishermen from each nations are arrested steadily for inadvertently trespassing into one another’s waters. In 2024, the island nation’s Navy arrested 529 Indian fishermen for allegedly poaching in Sri Lankan waters.