Sri Lankan Navy arrests 12 Indian fishermen for alleged poaching

Colombo: Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 12 Indian fishermen and seized their boat for allegedly poaching in the island nation’s waters, an official statement said on Tuesday.

 Sri Lanka’s North Central Naval Command on Sunday spotted a group of Indian fishing boats engaging in illegal fishing, trespassing into Sri Lankan waters, a statement issued by the Sri Lankan Navy said. 

“During an operation conducted in the dark hours of 22 Feb 26, the Sri Lanka Navy seized 1 Indian fishing boat and apprehended 12 Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, in the sea area south of Mannar”, it added. 

The seized boat and the arrested fishermen were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Dikovita for onward legal proceedings, the Navy said. Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other’s waters. 

The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan territorial waters.

The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries.