14 Indian Fishermen Arrested Over Alleged Poaching, Says Sri Lankan Navy

The Sri Lankan Navy has said it has arrested 14 more Indian fishermen for allegedly fishing in the island nation's territorial waters and seized two fishing trawlers.

The arrests took place on Wednesday off the coast of the northeastern district of Mannar.

With this arrest, so far this year 529 Indian fishermen have been arrested and 68 trawlers confiscated, the navy said.

On Monday, 18 Indian fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy in the Vettilaikerni area in the north.

Last month, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha held a meeting in which they stressed the importance of a long-term solution to the ongoing fishing disputes between the two nations.

The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan territorial 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.

Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other's waters.

In 2023, the island nation's Navy arrested 240 Indian fishermen for allegedly poaching in Sri Lankan waters

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