Twenty fishermen from Thoothukudi and nine from Rameswaram were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy on a charge of fishing in their territory.
Though 20 Thoothukudi fishermen were arrested at sea on Saturday evening, P. Sandhya Pacheik of Threspuram, owner of one of three Thoothukudi boats detained by Sri Lankan Navy, said that he came to know about it only at 1.30 a.m. on Sunday and took it up with Fisheries Department officials .
The fishermen had gone to the sea on Wednesday.
Joint Director of Fisheries R. Amal Xavier said that the fishermen were held at 80 nautical miles south off Pamban by Sri Lankan Navy. They were produced before a court in Kalpatti and remanded in judicial custody till March 14 in Negombo jail.
The issue was taken to the notice of the State government immediately to help secure the release of all the detained fishermen.
Traditional practice
Mr. Pacheik said that these fishermen had been traditionally involved only in hook-and-line fishing, which was eco-friendly and did not destroy the marine environment.
He said a group of fishermen would meet Union Minister Pon. Radhakrishnan and seek his intervention for their early release.
Rameswaram fishermen detained
The nine fishermen from Rameswaram were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy personnel in the early hours on Sunday, when they were fishing on the high seas off Katchatheevu in a trwaler.
U. Arulanandham, president of Alliance for the Release of Innocent Fishermen (ARIF), said that the arrested fishermen were produced before a court in Talaimannar and remanded in judicial custody till March 18 in Vavuniya jail.
The Rameswaram fishermen were towing a repaired trawler when Sri Lankan Navy intercepted them, fishermen leader P. Sesu Raja said.
On being chased and attacked by the navy personnel, fishermen in the towing boat cut the rope and returned to the Indian waters while Sri Lankan Navy confiscated the repaired boat and arrested nine fishermen onboard, he said.
(Additional reporting by D J Walter Scott in Sivaganga)
The fishermen were held at 80 nautical miles south off Pamban by Sri Lankan Navy
