COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has arrested 19 Indian fishermen and two trawlers for illegally fishing in the island nation’s waters near Delft Island in northern Jaffna province, the country’s Navy said on Thursday, in the second such incident this month.
The Sri Lanka Navy in the operation with the Sri Lanka Coast Guard on Wednesday also seized 2 Indian trawlers alongside the arrest of 19 Indian fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters, the Navy said in a statement.
The apprehended fishermen and their two trawlers were escorted to the Kankesanthurai Harbour and will be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for further action, it said. As an extension of these operations, the Northern Naval Command deployed Fast Attack Craft of the Navy and Coast Guard to chase away a cluster of Indian poaching trawlers which were engaged in illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters close to the Delft Island.
So far this year, the Navy has arrested 88 Indian fishermen in the island’s waters and seized 12 Indian trawlers, the statement said. The Navy has handed them over to authorities for further legal action.