Chennai, July 4 (BPNS)

The Sri Lankan Navy Spokesman Captain Indika DeSilva in a statement said that they arrested 12 Indian fishermen at Point Pedro in Jaffna on Sunday. They have been charged with illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters and their mechanized boats seized, the statement said.

The arrest has taken place days after the two-month-long fishing ban in Tamil Nadu ended and the fishermen resumed fishing. The fishing ban is enforced in the state for two months to allow breeding for fish.

It may be noted that several Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu are in Sri Lankan jails and discussions have taken place at the highest level including meetings between the two foreign ministers. However, the issue still stands unresolved.

Recently Tamil fishermen from Sri Lanka petitioned the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin against the large trawlers from Tamil Nadu operating in Sri Lankan waters causing fear and anxiety among fishermen in Sri Lanka. The cause of concern is the trawlers fishing huge volumes of fish leaving the Sri Lankan fishermen no catch. With the economic crisis in the island nation looming large, the fishermen of Sri Lanka are concerned over large Indian trawlers operated from Tamil Nadu entering the Sri Lankan waters illegally and fishing the catch.

The issue has been under bilateral and diplomatic discussions for the past ten years but without any amicable solutions.