In a recent incident, the Sri Lankan Navy has detained 22 Indian fishermen on fees of poaching in Sri Lankan waters. The 22 fishermen have been from the Pamban and Thangachimadam within the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.

Colombo: In a recent incident, the Sri Lankan Navy has detained 22 Indian fishermen on fees of poaching in Sri Lankan waters. The 22 fishermen have been from the Pamban and Thangachimadam within the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.

As per official sources within the Fisheries Département, Sri Lanka has detained these fishermen for poaching into their waters. The Sri Lankan Navy has alleged that the Tamil fishermen have been fishing at Parithiturai, which falls below Sri Lankan waters.

However, the fishermen have been denied this allegation. Rayappan, the fishermen chief and the president of the nation boat fishermen affiliation has said that Sri Lanka has been arresting mechanised boat fishermen.

As per reviews, the Sri Lankan Navy has taken custody of the 22 fishermen and their two dhows. Reports said that two dhows entered the waters with 11 fishermen on every for a multi-day fishing expedition on November 14 and 15, 2023.

The Navy has added that these two dhows have been detained as a part of a particular drive to push back Indian fishing crafts poaching in Sri Lankan waters.

This case of the detention of twenty-two fishermen comes towards the backdrop of the arrest of 64 fishermen in Sri Lanka.

Mechanised boat fishermen have already been interesting to the Government of India to intervene and convey again the fishermen which Sri Lanka arrested.

While 63 of those fishermen have been launched on bail, one fisherman was given a two-year jail time period for being a “second-time offender”.