Coast Guard on Monday informed the Madras High Court Bench here that 36,865 Indian fishing boats reportedly crossed the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) in the Palk Bay region and indulged in poaching as well as smuggling activities in the Sri Lankan waters between January 2014 and February this year.
Filing a counter affidavit in reply to a contempt of court application moved against top government officials, including the Union Cabinet Secretary, Coast Guard said the Sri Lankan Navy had even provided registration numbers of 1,474 such boats to the Indian High Commission along with a request to prevent unauthorised entry into their waters.
“The details have been regularly forwarded to Tamil Nadu government to initiate punitive measures. Though ample documentary details of erring Indian fishing boats have been provided to the authorities of Tamil Nadu, the crossing of IMBL by the fishermen still continues,” said K.R. Nautiyal, Deputy Director-General of the Coast Guard, in the affidavit.
Claiming that a majority of the Indian fishermen were let off by the Sri Lankan Navy with a warning, the DDG said only 185 boats and 937 crew members had been detained between January 2014 and March 29, 2015, on charges of following banned methods of fishing, which caused damage to Sri Lankan fishing gears, smuggling contraband and other illegal activities.
The DDG also said that Coast Guard had strengthened surveillance over the IMBL since January 2014. Yet, it was practically impossible to prevent fishermen from crossing the IMBL since the boundary extended up to about 160 nautical miles (296 km) and also because there was no law, rule or regulation that empowered Coast Guard to detain and prosecute such violators.
Says only 185 boats and 937 crew members detained between January 2014 and March 29, 2015, on charges of following banned methods of fishing
