Twenty-three fishermen detained in British island Diego Garcia by its navy on May 11 were released on May 23, said J. Nabiraj, Assistant Director, Fisheries Department, here on Friday.
The fishermen reached Muttom fishing harbour around 11 a.m. on Friday in their two boats. They were received by the officials and their relatives and friends. Twenty one of the released fishermen were from Kanyakumari and two from Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala. The fishermen had ventured into sea for fishing in two boats owned by R. Selvadhason of KR Puram area in Thuthur in Kanyakumari district. The boat owner has been summoned to the Fisheries Department in Nagercoil for inquiry. The detained fishermen alleged that their fishing materials, GPS and wireless instruments were seized by navy officials after their detention.
This was the last batch of fishermen released from the British island, the official said.
Earlier, P. Justin Antony, President, Tamil Nadu Fishermen Development Trust (TN-FIDET) had appealed to the State and Central governments to take steps to secure the early release of the fishermen.
Awareness programme
The TN-FIDET had organised an awareness programme recently, in which the fishermen took pledge not to cross the International Maritime Border Line.
