The Sri Lankan Navy on Sunday arrested 12 Indian fishermen near the coast of Point Pedro in Jaffna, on charges of fishing illegally in the island’s territorial waters. Their mechanised boat has been seized, Navy spokesman Captain Indika De Silva said.
The arrest comes weeks after the nearly two month-long fishing ban in Tamil Nadu— an annual practice to allow for breeding of fish— ended. Tamil Nadu fishermen have since resumed fishing.
Meanwhile, northern Sri Lankan fishermen have raised concerns over the return of Indian fishing trawlers near their shores, aggravating fears of losing their livelihoods, already under enormous strain amid Sri Lanka’s economic crisis.
