In Colombo, five Indian anglers who had been detained by the Sri Lanka Navy for allegedly engaging in fishing activities in the territorial waters of the island nation were repatriated to India on Wednesday.
“Five Indian anglers have been securely repatriated from Sri Lanka and are expected to arrive in India later this evening,” stated the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka in a communication on X. Earlier this month, 19 Indian anglers who had been detained by the Sri Lanka Navy were repatriated to India, as indicated by the Indian High Commission.
The matter of fishermen is a contentious issue in the relations between India and Sri Lanka, with Sri Lankan Navy personnel even resorting to gunfire against Indian anglers in the Palk Strait and seizing their vessels in numerous alleged incidents of unauthorized entry into Sri Lankan territorial waters.
The Navy has, to date in 2024, detained a total of 23 Indian trawlers and 178 Indian anglers for purportedly engaging in fishing activities in the waters of the island nation, and has handed them over to authorities for legal proceedings, as confirmed by the Sri Lankan Navy in a statement towards the end of last month.
On April 3, a total of 19 Indian anglers who had been detained by the Sri Lanka Navy were repatriated to India subsequent to their release by authorities in Sri Lanka.
The Palk Strait, a narrow waterway that separates Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, stands as a bountiful fishing region for anglers from both nations. Anglers from both nations are frequently apprehended for unintentionally entering each other’s waters. In 2023, the Sri Lankan Navy apprehended 240 Indian anglers along with 35 trawlers for allegedly engaging in poaching activities in Sri Lankan waters.