Chennai, Feb 19 (UNI) In a fresh incident, the Sri Lankan Navy arrested 22 fishermen from Tamil Nadu early on Thursday morning while fishing in the high seas near the Palk Strait.
The fishermen, hailing from Rameswaram in Ramanathapuram district, had ventured into the sea last night when they were arrested
by the Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in their territorial waters after crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
The fisherme were arrested while they were fishing near the Katchatheevu islet and their four mechanised boats were impounded by
the Lankan Navy personnel.
After their arrest, the fishermen were taken to Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka along with their boats for further action.
The alarming spurt in Incidents of arrests of TN fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy has been causing much heartburn among their families and the fishing community at large despite repeated appeals from the fishermen associations for diplomatic intervention
and a permanent solution to the long-standing issue in the Palk Strait.
Today’s arrest comes in the wake of apprehension of 25 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Karaikal two days back.
The Sri Lankan Navy had arrested 25 fishermen hailing from Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai districts of Tamil Nadu and Karaikal
in the union Territory of Puducherry and impounded their two mechanised fishing boats from Karaikal for allegedly crossing the IMBL and fishing in Sri Lankan waters. They were to the Kankesanthurai Naval Camp and handed over to the fisheries department authorities for further action..
Among the 25 arrested fishermen, 12 hailed from Nagapattinam district, three from Mayiladuthurai, and 10 from Karaikal.
While one boat left the Karaikal port with 14 fishermen on board. Among the crew were five fishermen hailing from Akkaraipettai and Samanthanpettai villages in Nagapattinam district, one from Mayiladuthurai, and eight from Karaikal.
The second boat had set sail from Karaikal port with 11 fishermen including Seven from Nagapattinam, two from Mayiladuthurai, and two from Karaikal.
The twin incident in a span of three days comes close on the heels of three fishermen each arrested by the Lankan Navy on December 28 and 30, 2025, 11 from Karaikal on January two, nine from Nagapattinam district on January 3 and 10 fishermen from Rameswaram on January 14.
The incident of arrests at frequent intervals were going on unabated and the apprehensions comes in the backdrop of Chief Minister
M K Stalin urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put an end to the legal uncertainty faced by the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees settled
in the state for over four decades, adopt a humanitarian approach in this issue and consider granting them citizenship or long-term visa.
The latest arrest of fishermen today while fishing in the Palk Strait, took place despite Mr Stalin time and again writing to the union government seeking urgent steps through diplomatic channels to secure the release of apprehended fishermen, besides convening the Joint Working Group of fishermen between the two countries to find a lasting solution to this vexatious issue.
This was also reiterated in the Governor’s address in the State Assembly on the opening day of the first session of New Year.
Various fishermen association condemned the oft-repeated instances of arrests of fishermen and urged the central and the state governments to find a permanent solution to sustain their livelihood and restore their traditional fishing rights in the Palk Strait
Region.
Mr Stalin also urged the Centre to retrieve Katchtheevu, an islet, ceded to Sri Lanka through a pact in 1974 and said this alone will provide a lasting solution to restore the traditional fishing rights of the fishermen. The government had also adopted resolutions in
this regard in the State Assembly.
Mr Stalin had been repeatedly writing to External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar to utilize appropriate diplomatic channels to prevent further apprehensions and to secure the immediate release of all the detained fishermen and their fishing boats.
In fresh incident, 22 TN fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy
