Indian Coast Guard Ship Sarang on Saturday apprehended four Sri Lankan fishing boats with 21 fishermen for illegally fishing in Indian waters under the Maritime Zones of India Act 1981 (MZI Act 1981).
An official press release issued on Sunday said the ICGS Sarang, an advanced offshore patrol vessel, intercepted the boats that were engaged in illegal fishing very close to the Indian coast. It was found that these boats were carrying five tonnes of fish onboard.
The boats – Kalani, Chejana-02, Niranjana and Priyan-04 – which had sailed from Dondra in Sri Lanka were apprehended south west of Kakinada.
This is the seventh time Sri Lankan fishing vessels have been apprehended by Coast Guard Region (East) in 2011. During this year, a total of 15 boats with 74 crew and 13,900 kg of fish catch had been caught, the release said.
