530 Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy in 2024

Chennai: Just a week after President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed that the fishermen issue should be dealt with a humanitarian approach, as many as 17 Indian fishermen from Rameswaram island were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy in the wee hours of Tuesday for allegedly crossing into its border.

With this, the number of fishermen from Ramanathapuram, Pudukkottai, and Nagapattinam districts of Tamil Nadu who were arrested by Sri Lanka since the start of 2024 has gone up to 530, underlining the conflict in the Palk Straits, where the battle is over fish catch. As many as 71 Indian boats have been confiscated by the Sri Lankan Navy in 2024 alone and have been nationalized under a new law which came into effect in 2018.

The fishermen, who left Rameswaram in two boats along with 381 trawlers to fish in the Palk Straits, were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar on Tuesday morning. They were taken to Talaimannar for allegedly entering Sri Lanka’s water by crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).

“What is appalling is that the incident has taken place within days of India and Sri Lanka agreeing to deal with humanity. Our fishermen continue to get arrested and suffer in jail. The state government keeps writing letters to the Centre, which hasn’t acted so far,” Jesuraja, President, All Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association, told DH.

“Our fishermen continue to fish only in the traditional waters. They have no choice but to fish in the international waters as the fish catch is abundant there. Why arrest them and impound the boats? Once a fisherman loses his boat, his livelihood is gone. He can never get back his vessel from Sri Lanka,” Jesuraja added. The fishermen want the government to ensure that the boats are released along with the arrested fishermen.

Chief Minister M K Stalin, in a letter to the External Affairs Minister on Tuesday, said in 2024 alone, 530 fishermen were arrested and 71 boats were confiscated. “The recent apprehensions and attacks have created a sense of fear among the fishing folks who are solely dependent on fishing for their livelihood,” he added in the letter.

Modi had last week, while meeting Dissanayake, said the two countries discussed issues related to the livelihood of fishermen and agreed that they should move forward with a humanitarian approach in this matter.

N J Bose, another fishermen leader from Rameswaram, said the fishing fields for Tamil fishermen shrank to a mere 12 nautical miles from 52 nautical miles, which was the case before the IMBL was demarcated and the Katchatheevu agreement was signed in 1974.

“We were using country boats but it was the government which asked us to graduate to trawlers. Decades later, Sri Lanka opposes trawlers and we can fish in the Palk Strait peacefully only if the neighbouring country allows us in its territory. There is no other way,” Bose said. He also blamed the BJP government at the Centre for “remaining mum” over Sri Lanka impounding boats belonging to fishermen from Tamil Nadu.

Arrest of Indian fishermen from Pudukkottai, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, and Ramanathapuram districts by the Sri Lankan Navy has been a recurring affair in the Palk Strait for the past few decades.

The fishermen cross the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and step into Sri Lankan waters as the fish catch is abundant on the other side. But their Tamil counterparts in Sri Lanka’s northern region say the bottom trawlers used by Indian fishermen scrap the seabed, bringing ecological destruction.

The Ministry of External Affairs maintains that the government attaches the highest priority to the safety, security and welfare of Indian fishermen and that the issue of fishermen has been taken up at the highest level.