“Both Indian and Sri Lankan navies should carry out joint patrolling that will prevent Indian fishermen and their trawlers from coming in”.
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“The denial of this right and the prolonged incarceration of our fishermen in Sri Lankan jails after being unlawfully apprehended while rightfully engaging in their livelihood activity of fishing in their traditional waters is causing considerable misery and frustration amongst the fisherfolk of Tamil Nadu”, she said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today urged the Prime Minister to take up the arrest of the state’s fishermen at a high political level with Sri Lanka and sought immediate release of 54 fishermen and their 34 boats, including 19 who were apprehended yesterday.
He said the Tamil Nadu government should impress upon the Centre to ensure that the interests of the State’s fishermen are protected, The Hindu newspaper reported.
Fishermen violating each other’s territorial waters has become a thorny issue in the Indo-Lanka relations and all previous attempts have failed to amicably resolve the problem.
Vijitha Herath, the opposition JVP parliamentarian who moved the adjournment time debate said that illegal fishing by Indians was a threat to Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and the authorities must apply strict laws such as to confiscate Indian boats doing illegal fishing.
Indian fishermen use an illegal method called bottom-trawling to engage in fishing in the Northern seas of Sri Lanka.
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Navy Spokesperson Commander Indika de Silva, speaking to News 1st, said that the fishermen were arrested in the Eastern seas of Point Pedro and were escorted to the Kankesanthurai coast, following which they were handed over to the Department of Fisheries.
