In yet another incident in a week, 25 Indian fishermen, natives of coastal villages in Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai districts in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal in the Union Territory of Puducherry, who had set sail in two groups, were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy mid-sea.
They were taken into custody a few nautical miles off Point Pedro on the charges of allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and poaching in the waters of the island country in the late hours of Saturday, December 9, 2023.
The arrested persons include N. Rajesh, S. Baskar, E. Nagaiyan, K. Divayanthan, S. Mayavan, T. Bhakiyaraj, S. Sakthivel, U. Manikandan, K. Ramachandran, R. Kothandapani, R. Ramachandran and R. Selvamani, all natives of Akkaraipettai and Keechankuppam coastal villages in Nagapattinam district. They set out to sea for fishing on December 5, after staying out of their routine for more than a week due to inclement weather conditions, in a mechanised boat owned by N. Ramesh of Akkaraipettai.
A group of Indian fishermen who were among those arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on December 9, 2023 | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Similarly, another group of 13 fishermen who ventured into sea for fishing in a mechanised boat from Kilinjalmedu in Karaikal on December 5 were also arrested. They were identified as N. Krishnaraj, N. Selvam, S. Santhosh, M. Saran, natives of Kilinjalmedu; and R. Vijayan, R. Vaiyapuri, S. Ajith, S. Sugan, natives of Tirumalairayan Pattinam, in Karaikal district; along with S. Kalaimani of Samanthampettai, V. Srinath of Keechankuppam, G. Sivanathan of Akkaraipettai in Nagapattinam district; and S. Vaithiyanathan of Chandrapadi, N. Arulmoorthy of Tharangambadi, in Mayiladuthurai district.
According to a press release from the Sri Lankan Navy, 25 Indian fishermen were arrested for poaching in Sri Lankan waters, and their two vessels were impounded. They were taken to Kankesanthurai port for further investigations. The press release also said the Sri Lankan Navy seized a total of 33 trawlers and apprehended 220 Indian fishermen on the charges of poaching into Sri Lankan waters in 2023.
The arrest of 25 fishermen on Saturday night comes on the heels of a couple of incidents in the same week in which the Sri Lankan Navy arrested more than 20 fishermen from Rameswaram and Pudukottai districts and impounded their boats.
R.M.P. Rajendira Nattar, President, Indian National Fishermen Union, has appealed to find a permanent solution to the fishermen issue considering their livelihood and urged the Union and State governments to take expeditious steps to release all fishermen and fishing boats apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy.
