The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested at the least 54 Indian fishermen and seized 5 trawlers (Representational)
Colombo: The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested at the least 54 Indian fishermen and seized 5 trawlers for allegedly poaching within the nation’s territorial waters, an official assertion mentioned in Colombo at this time.
The Lankan Navy arrested the fishermen on Wednesday off the coast of northern and northeastern areas.
“Having thought of the influence of international fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters on the native fishing group and the sustainability of fishery sources of Sri Lanka, the Navy is conducting common patrols to curb unlawful fishing actions in Sri Lankan waters,” the Sri Lankan Navy mentioned within the assertion.
The Lankan Navy seized a big Indian fishing vessel with 14 fishermen on board, about 3 nautical miles off the coast of Kovilan in Jaffna.
Two extra Indian fishing vessels with 20 fishermen for participating in trawling had been arrested about 7 nautical miles off Pesalai, Mannar and 5 nautical miles off the Iranativu Island, the assertion mentioned.
Two extra Indian fishing vessels with 20 personnel had been arrested about 7.5 and eight.5 nautical miles off Mullaitivu. The 2 vessels had trespassed into Sri Lankan waters about 62 nautical miles, crossing the Worldwide Boundary Line (IMBL) when the apprehension was made, the Sri Lankan Navy mentioned in a press release.
The Lankan Navy mentioned it had beforehand knowledgeable the Indian authorities when comparable incidents of trawling by Indian fishermen had been reported.
The alleged unlawful entry of international fishermen into Sri Lankan waters and the usage of prohibited fishing strategies like backside trawling to catch even very small fish has significantly threatened the marine ecosystem and endanger the livelihood of fishermen within the northern a part of the island.
Fishermen from each nations are arrested continuously for inadvertently trespassing into one another’s waters. The fishermen difficulty has turn out to be a serious irritant in bilateral ties.
In January, Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka, he met with Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda and raised the fishermen difficulty and reviewed bilateral cooperation in fisheries.
“We stay up for the early return of our fishermen from Sri Lanka,” Mr Jaishankar had mentioned.
Later, a three-member committee was appointed by the Sri Lankan authorities which is able to make suggestions on measures to cease poaching by Indian fishermen contained in the nation’s waters after 4 individuals had been killed when an Indian trawler capsized after colliding with a Sri Lankan Navy vessel.
On January 18, the Sri Lankan Navy mentioned that they seized Indian fishing trawlers allegedly poaching in Sri Lankan waters, trespassing the IMBL. The Lankan Navy mentioned one of many Indian fishing trawlers, with aggressive manoeuvres tried to evade the scene and collided with the Naval craft in operation and in the end sank at sea having misplaced its stability.
India additionally lodged a robust protest with Sri Lanka over the dying of 4 fishermen in a collision between their vessel and a naval craft of the island nation.
Additionally, Throughout his five-day go to to India in February final yr, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to resolve the long-festering fishermen difficulty with a “humane method”.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
