At least 37 Indian fishermen have been apprehended by the Sri Lanka Navy for trespassing into local maritime areas off the northern coast.
Accordingly, the Indian nationals were arrested, along with five fishing trawlers, off of the coasts of Mannar and Delft Island, Jaffna, Sri Lanka Navy reported.
The arrests were made during special naval operations carried out on Saturday evening (28 Oct.), and in the early hours of Sunday (29 Oct.),
In these operations, the North Central Naval Command held three Indian poaching trawlers who were poaching in Sri Lankan waters off Mannar, with 23 Indian fishermen aboard, while the Northern Naval Command apprehended two Indian poaching trawlers with 14 Indian fishermen aboard near Delft Island.
The apprehended fishermen and their fishing trawlers were brought to the Talaimannar Pier and Kankasanthurai harbour and are due to be handed over to the Talaimannar and Jaffna Fisheries Inspectors for onward legal action.
A total of 174 Indian fishermen have been apprehended by the Sri Lanka Navy thus far in 2023, including the 37 apprehended in the aforementioned operations.
