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Colombo, 22 December (PTI) — The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 12 Indian fishermen and impounded their trawler on suspicion of poaching in the country’s territorial waters.
The fishermen were arrested on Wednesday off the coast of Vettilaikerni in the northern district of Jaffna, the Sri Lankan Navy said in a statement.
They are currently being detained at the Kankesanthurai fishing port, it said.
“The Sri Lankan Navy has stepped up patrols and operations in the country’s waters to curb illegal fishing by trawlers,” it said.
The Sri Lankan navy has arrested 264 Indian fishermen and seized 36 trawlers this year.
Despite numerous high-level talks between the two countries, the issue of illegal fishing by Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters has been recurring.
In the past, Sri Lankan naval personnel even fired on Indian fishermen and seized their trawlers in the Park Strait in several incidents of suspected illegal entry into Sri Lankan territorial waters.
The Pak Strait, a narrow strip of water that separates Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries.
Indian fishermen have been arrested by Sri Lankan authorities on suspicion of crossing international maritime boundaries and fishing in Sri Lankan waters.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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