Colombo: Six Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were fishing in international waters, were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy along with their trawler, near the Kankesanthurai area in Sri Lanka. According to the Sri Lankan Navy, the fishermen were allegedly involved in 'illegal poaching' and were detained off the Kovilan Lighthouse in Kareinagar after a special operation on Wednesday.
"The Navy continues to conduct regular patrols and operations in Sri Lankan waters to curb illegal fishing practices by foreign fishing trawlers, taking into account the consequences of these practices on the livelihood of local fishermen and marine resources of the country," the release stated.
They belonged to the Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu. Out of the six, five fishermen have been identified as Naresh (27), Anandababu (25), Ajay (24), Nandakumar (28) and Ajith (26). The sixth person is yet to be identified.
The detained fishermen were brought to the Kankasanthurai harbour, and they will be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for further legal action, the Navy said. This episode has come just on the heels of another similar incident, where 25 fishermen -- 12 from Tamil Nadu and 13 from Puducherry -- were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy off Point Pedro town in Sri Lanka.
Last month, 27 Indian fishermen were released by the Sri Lankan authorities. They returned to the Chennai airport on separate days in sets of 12 and 15. Earlier in October, a total of 64 fishermen who belong to Rameshwaram and Mandapam were arrested in three separate arrests by the Sri Lankan navy, allegedly for cross-border fishing along with their boats and fishing nets.