21 Indians detained for illegal fishing

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

Twenty one Indian fishermen poaching in the territorial waters of Sri Lanka off the coast of Talaimannar were taken into custody by the Sri Lanka Navy following the detection last week, Naval Spokesman, Captain D.K.P. Dassanayake told the Sunday Observer.

He said a boat with four Indian fishermen off the coast of Mannar was spotted by the Navy around 12.30 pm last Wednesday (16). Subsequently, around 7 am on the following day, five trawlers with 17 fishermen were detected poaching in the territorial waters. The Navy seized the trawlers following the detection.

Meanwhile, the fishermen have been handed over to the Mannar police to be produced in court for illegally entering the territorial waters of Sri Lanka.

According to Naval sources, bottom trawler fishing is prohibited in most countries as it depletes the marine resources in deep seas. Many Indian fishermen had been detected in Sri Lankan territorial waters in the past.