In two different incidences on Sunday, the Sri Lankan Navy detained at least 34 Indian fishermen. Three trawling boats that were being utilized for illicit fishing were also seized by the authorities.
The fishermen were caught for unlawful fishing in two different events on January 25 and 26, according to the Navy.
Three boats belonging to Sachin of Rameswaram, Deniyl, and Rubildan of Thangachimadam were seized by the Sri Lankan Navy for breaching the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), according to the Ramanathapuram Fisheries Department.
About 41 Indian fishermen who had been similarly detained for poaching in Sri Lankan waters were returned to their home countries, according to a previous statement from the Indian High Commission.
Two fishing trawlers and eight Indian fishermen were taken into custody on January 12.
Fishermen’s organizations called on the union administration to act to free the fishermen without enforcing harsh penalties and denounced the continuous arrests.
Since the Palk Strait, which separates the two nations, is a popular fishing location, unintentional arrests have occurred frequently. Both countries frequently made arrests over alleged instances of illegally accessing each other’s territorial waters.
In some claimed instances of illegal fishing, Lankan Navy officers have even fired at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seized their boats, making the fishermen’s problem a sensitive one in relations between India and Sri Lanka.
529 Indian fishermen were detained by the island nation’s Navy in 2024 on suspicion of poaching in Sri Lankan waters. In 2025, however, the Navy detained more than fifty Indian fishermen for engaging in illicit fishing.
