Attacks on TN fishermen by Lankan Navy on the rise: Stalin to PM

Chennai: As many as 88 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy along with their boats in the past one month alone, Chief Minister M K Stalin told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and sought his intervention in ensuring the immediate release of 77 of them. 

In a letter to Modi, Stalin expressed his concern over the alarming increase in incidents of apprehension of Tamil fishermen and their boats by the Sri Lankan authorities, impacting their right to livelihood. 

He drew the Prime Minister’s attention to the significant rise in the number of arrests of Tamil fishermen by Sri Lankan authorities, except during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The traditional fishing waters that Tamil fishermen have relied upon for generations are getting increasingly restricted, making it difficult to sustain their livelihood and impacting the economic stability of these communities. This also threatens the cultural and social fabric of the region that revolves around the fishing industry,” Stalin told Modi.

While 243 fishermen were arrested and 37 boats were seized in 2023, the number of fishermen arrested in the past 28 days alone is 88. As many as 12 boats were apprehended in six incidents, Stalin said.

He also said increasing instances of attacks on Tamil fishermen and damages inflicted on their boats and equipment in the seas by unidentified persons have added a new layer of concern to an “already precarious situation.”

“Such acts not only endanger the lives of the fishermen but also exacerbate the economic hardships they face,” he said, adding that the Sri Lankan Navy seizes fishing boats from the arrested fishermen, who have invested their life savings in acquiring and maintaining the boats.

“The nationalisation of these boats without proper compensation or alternative arrangements pushes the fishermen and their families into financial distress,” Stalin said.

He nudged the Prime Minister to ask Sri Lanka to make the necessary amendments, withdraw the nationalisation of apprehended Indian fishing boats, and release them immediately.

He also said the Union government should take swift and decisive action to revive the Joint Working Group set up for this purpose. The arrest of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy is a major issue in the Palk Straits, as fishermen from Ramanathapuram, Pudukkottai, and Nagapattinam districts often cross into the Sri Lankan waters in search of fish. Calling the act “transgression”, the Sri Lankan Navy apprehends the fishermen and their boats.