Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu) Jan 12 (UNI) The Sri Lankan Navy on Sunday arrested eight Indian fishermen and seized two mechanised fishing trawlers allegedly for violating the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and poaching in Sri Lankan territorial waters.
Tamil Nadu fisheries department officials said here that the fishermen, hailing from Rameswaram, were apprehended by the Lankan navy when they were fishing in the sea area north of Mannar in the wee hours.
The fishermen had set sail into the sea from the Rameswaram fishing jetty on Saturday morning for routine fishing activities.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Navy, in a statement, said that during a special operation to curb illegal fishing practices of foreign fishing boats, the North Central Naval Command spotted a cluster of Indian fishing boats engaging in illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters.
In response, the Northern Naval Command deployed its Fast Attack Craft, and North Central Naval Command deployed its Inshore Patrol Craft to drive away the Indian fishing boats.
The operation resulted in the apprehension of eight Indian fishermen and the seizure of two Indian fishing trawlers, who continued to remain in Sri Lankan waters.
The seized boats, together with Indian fishermen, were taken to the Island of Iranativu and were subsequently handed over to the Assistant Directorate of Fisheries of Kilinochchi for onwards legal proceedings.
This is the second instance of the arrest of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy within a week this month.
On January 9, the Sri Lankan Navy and Coast Guard on Thursday arrested 10 fishermen hailing from Puducherry and seized a mechanised fishing trawler allegedly for violating the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and poaching in Sri Lankan territorial waters.
In 2024 alone, the Sri Lankan maritime forces apprehended 554 Indian fishermen and seized 72 Indian fishing boats so far this year and handed them over to the fisheries authorities for legal action.
