Sri Lankan Navy arrests 8 Indian fishermen for alleged poaching

The Sri Lankan Navy on Sunday said it has arrested eight Indian fishermen for allegedly fishing in the island nation's territorial waters and seized two fishing trawlers.

The arrests took place on Saturday night “during a special operation conducted in the sea area north of Mannar”, it said in a press statement.

With this arrest, so far this year 18 Indian fishermen have been arrested and three trawlers confiscated, the statement said.

The Navy said “in the dark hours of 11th January”, 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 its Inshore Patrol Craft to drive away those Indian fishing boats poaching in the sea area north of Mannar”.

“The operation resulted in the seizure of 2 Indian fishing boats and apprehension of 8 Indian fishermen who continued to remain in Sri Lankan waters,” it said.

The seized boats together with the Indian fishermen were brought to the island of Iranativu and they will be handed over to the Assistant Directorate of Fisheries, Kilinochchi for onward legal proceedings, the Navy said.

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.

Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other's waters.

In 2024, the island nation's Navy arrested 529 Indian fishermen for allegedly poaching in Sri Lankan waters.