At least 32 fisherfolk from Rameswaram, Thangachimadam and nearby areas in Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly poaching in the Palk Strait, near Mannar, on Sunday morning, reported The Hindu.

Five trawlers were also seized. One of them belongs to fisherman leader Jesu Raja from Thangachimadam, the newspaper reported.

The fishers were taken to a naval base after their arrest. Their catch was also seized.

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested over 100 Tamil Nadu fishers and seized 20 trawlers this year. Sri Lankan courts have recently imposed heavy fines and jail terms on some fisherfolk citing repeat offences.

In an emergency meeting convened on Sunday, fisherfolk associations in Rameswaram called for an indefinite strike to protest such actions by Colombo.

Raja told The Hindu on Sunday: “We have been pleading with the Central government to arrange for a meeting with the Sri Lankan Northern Province fisherfolk leaders as they have been raising objections.”

“We want to draw the attention of the Union and State governments to help us in this hour of crisis,” said R Sagayam, a fisherfolk leader, adding that the associations’ next course of action would be announced in a day or two.

An unidentified fisherfolk leader in Rameswaram told The Hindu that the authorities in Sri Lanka planned to auction 67 trawlers, including five country boats and 62 mechanized boats, seized by the Navy in 2024.

“It is very painful and an unfair decision by the Sri Lankan government to sell our assets,” he said. “At a time, when the fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been pleading for safe and secure fishing activity along the Palk Straits, the stoic silence by the Union and State governments had come as a shock. It has been our right from time immemorial to fish in the Palk Straits.”

A week ago, fisherfolk welfare associations demanded a permanent solution to the conflict and warned of a series of strikes starting March 1 if their demands were not met by February 28.

Bharatiya Janata Party Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai wrote to Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, urging his intervention for the swift repatriation of the arrested fisherfolk.

In his letter, Annamalai noted that 32 fishermen from Rameswaram were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy for fishing near Sri Lanka’s Katchatheevu island and would be presented in court at Thalaimannar. He expressed concern over the continued detention of Tamil fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.

The BJP leader said that families of the arrested fishers were deeply distressed.

Pakistan releases 22 Indian fisherfolk

On Saturday, 22 Indian fisherfolk held in Pakistan’s Karachi jail were released and handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah Border, reported PTI.

The fishers were transported from Karachi to Lahore in a special bus operated by the Edhi Foundation.

“Each Indian fisherman was provided with PKR 5,000, meals and gifts by the Edhi Foundation,” a spokesperson for Edhi Foundation told PTI.

Karachi jail superintendent Arshad Shah said that the fisherfolk were released after serving their sentences. They had been arrested for accidentally crossing into Pakistan’s territorial waters, a common issue due to poorly defined sea borders between the two countries.

As of January 1, 2025, prisoner exchange lists showed Pakistan holding 266 Indian prisoners, including 49 civilians and 217 fisherfolk, while India holds 462 Pakistani prisoners, including 381 civilians and 81 fisherfolk.