Fishing Row Deepens as Seven Tamil Nadu Men Are Detained

The fishing dispute between India and Sri Lanka took a fresh turn on Sunday after Sri Lankan naval personnel detained seven men from Tamil Nadu's coastal districts. The fishermen, from Rameswaram and Thangachimadam, were held in the early hours of the day.

Fisheries officials in Tamil Nadu said the men were arrested while fishing in the waters between Katchatheevu island and northern Mannar. They were accused of illegal fishing and were taken, along with their trawler, to a Sri Lankan naval harbour.

The seven men are Plasius (41), Alagu Pandi (22), Antony Pichai (33), Robin (21), Nelson (58), Arulananda Xavier (65) and Sahaya Anand (34). All of them are from fishing communities in Ramanathapuram district.

The Fisheries Department had granted 398 fishing tokens on Saturday, with boats expected to return by Sunday evening. The seven fishermen were detained before they could complete their trip.

Fishermen's leaders have announced that a meeting of organisations across the coastal district will be held to decide on future action.

The detentions come weeks after nine Rameswaram fishermen were arrested on October 3 and their mechanised boat was seized. Chief Minister Vijay subsequently asked External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to intervene.

In his October 5 letter, Vijay requested the release of 20 fishermen held in Sri Lanka and the return of 270 boats. He also pressed for the resumption of talks through the bilateral Joint Working Group on fisheries.

Nine fishermen from Rameswaram had been arrested north of Mannar in July, with their boat impounded and the crew moved to a naval camp in Mannar.

In March, seven fishermen and two boats from Rameswaram were seized for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). Fishermen's associations had demanded the return of the men and their vessels then.

The repeated incidents have kept pressure on New Delhi to secure a durable arrangement that protects fishermen's livelihoods.