A Coast Guard team apprehended 15 Sri Lankan fishermen found illegally fishing in Indian waters in the early hours of Monday. Three trawlers, fishing nets, navigation equipment and two tonnes of fish were also seized from the fishermen.
According to Coast Guard (Eastern Region) Commandant, Rajendra Nath, the fishermen were found 125 nautical miles north-north east of Chennai by Coast Guard ship ‘Sarang' during regular patrolling.
“A crew of five members each were on the three fishing trawlers which were engaged in fishing a few miles away from each other. Our team searched the trawlers and found tuna fish weighing a total of two tonnes. There was nothing of suspicious nature inside the boats,” he said.
All the seized items were brought to the Kasimedu fishing harbour here on Tuesday afternoon. The 15 Sri Lankan fishermen and the seized items will be handed over to the Harbour police on Wednesday morning. Police will be registering cases against the fishermen under The Maritime Zones of India Act 1981 and will produce them at the Egmore Court, police sources added.
