Colombo: The Sri Lanka Navy Monday apprehended 25 Indian fishermen for allegedly poaching in the island nation’s territorial waters.
The fishermen were apprehended, and their two trawlers were seized in Sri Lankan waters off Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, the Navy said in a statement.
The fishermen will be handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Myliddy, Jaffna, for further legal proceedings.
The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with the Sri Lankan Navy personnel sometimes even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats for illegally entering Sri Lanka’s territorial waters.
Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other’s 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.
In 2025, the Sri Lankan Navy apprehended 346 Indian fishermen for alleged poaching and seized 44 trawlers, according to an earlier statement by the Navy.
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