NAGAPATTINAM: The Sri Lankan Navy arrested 10 fishermen hailing from Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai for crossing into their territorial waters on Monday. The arrested fishers were remanded in a Sri Lankan prison.
The arrested include nine fishers from Nagapattinam - hailing from Akkaraipettai, Keechankuppam, Samanthanpettai, Nagore, and Nambiyar Nagar - while the Mayiladuthurai fisherman is from Savadikkuppam.
The mechanised fishing boat owned by D Dharmabalan of Akkaraipettai had set sail from Nagapattinam fishing harbour on January 13 around 11 pm, sources said. The boat, among other fishing vessels operating southeast of Point Calimere (Kodiyakarai) on Sunday night, was confronted by a Sri Lanka Navy interceptor craft around 12.30 am on Monday, sources said. They arrested 10 fishers and seized multiple boats.
Subsequently, the fishers and their trawlers were taken to Kangesanthurai harbor in Jaffna and handed over to fisheries officials in Myliddy for legal proceedings. The fishers faced court proceedings in Point Pedro, where they were ordered to be remanded in Jaffna Prison until January 29.
“We request the state and union government to take action to bring back our fishers and their boats,” said R Soundarapandiyan, a fisher representative from Akkaraipettai.
An official from fisheries and fishermen welfare department said, “We have submitted a letter to our Directorate with the details of arrested fishermen and the developments that followed their arrest. The governments will pursue their course of action.”
According to Sri Lankan Navy reports, 240 Indian fishers were arrested and 35 trawlers were seized in 2023 alone for crossing the IMBL. “The Navy conducts regular patrols and operations in Sri Lankan waters to curb illegal fishing practices by foreign fishing trawlers, taking into account the consequences of these practices on the livelihood of local fishermen and marine resources of the country,” a statement from Sri Lankan Navy said following the action.