In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Sri Lankan government arrested eight fishermen from Tamil Nadu. The Lankan government allege that the fishermen crossed the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) into Sri Lankan waters for poaching.
The Sri Lankan naval authorities have taken into custody a trawler of the fishermen hailing from Rameswaram. The arrests were made during a search operation in the north of Mannar, the Navy said in a press release.
The Fisheries Department officials quoted, “The fishermen were operating near Delft Island when they were intercepted by a Sri Lankan naval patrol”. The authorities allege illegal poaching in their territorial waters, citing repeated violations despite diplomatic interventions in a press statement from the Fisheries Department.
The Fisheries Inspectorate in Mannar stated, “The North Central Naval Command spotted a group of Indian fishing boats engaging in illegal fishing, trespassing into Sri Lankan waters in the early hours of today. In response, the North Central Naval Command deployed its Inshore Patrol Craft to drive away those Indian fishing boats from island waters, north of Mannar.”
This is not the First Time
Over the years, arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy over alleged maritime boundary transgressions have become a common occurrence. The Palk Strait between the countries is a rich fishing ground for fishermen, but due to its narrow nature, fishermen often end up unintentionally entering Lankan waters.
Fishermen have argued that the declining fish stocks in Indian waters force them to cross into the Lankan waters. They also argue that the traditional fishing grounds used by Tamil fishermen for generations now fall within Sri Lanka’s jurisdiction following maritime boundary agreements signed decades ago.
Speaking more on the same, Union Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar claimed that constant transgression of Indian fishermen stems from an agreement during the Emergency under which their rights for fishing in some specific areas were given up.
On the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, Jaishankar said, "We hear about our fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka. The reason is that an agreement was entered into during Emergency under which the rights of the fishermen for fishing in some sea waters of Sri Lanka was abandoned," Jaishankar said.
The Tamil Nadu government has repeatedly taken up the issue with the Central government, urging New Delhi to secure the release of fishermen and their boats. They urge the centre to find a permanent diplomatic solution.
