12 Indian fishermen arrested for poaching by Sri Lanka Navy

The Sri Lanka Navy arrested 12 Indian fishermen on Wednesday and seized their trawlers for allegedly poaching within the nation’s territorial waters.

Colombo ,UPDATED: Dec 22, 2022 18:48 IST

Twelve fishermen have been arrested off the coast of Vettilaikerni in northern Jaffna district by Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday (Representative Image)

By Press Trust of India: The Sri Lanka Navy has arrested 12 Indian fishermen and seized their trawlers for allegedly poaching within the nation’s territorial waters.

The fishermen have been arrested off the coast of Vettilaikerni in northern Jaffna district on Wednesday, the Sri Lanka Navy stated in a press release.

They are at present detained on the Kankesanthurai fishing harbour, it stated.

“Sri Lanka Navy has stepped up its patrols and operations in the country’s waters to curb illegal fishing practices of fishing trawlers”, it stated.

The Sri Lanka Navy has arrested 264 Indian fishermen and seized 36 trawlers this yr.

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Illegal fishing within the Sri Lankan waters by Indian fishermen has been a recurrent drawback regardless of many high-level talks held between the 2 sides.

In the previous, the Sri Lanka Navy personnel has even fired at Indian fishermen within the Palk Strait and seized their trawlers in a number of alleged incidents of illegally coming into Sri Lankan’s territorial waters.

The Palk Strait, which is a slender strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a wealthy fishing floor for fishermen from each international locations.

There have been periodic situations of Indian fishermen being apprehended by Sri Lankan authorities for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line and fishing in Sri Lankan waters.

Published On:

Dec 22, 2022