Indian Fishermen

Earlier this month, on January 16, 15 Indian fishermen, also detained by the Sri Lankan Navy, were released and returned to Chennai

Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department officials received them at the airport and sent them to their respective native places

In a mutual exchange between India and Bangladesh amid strained bilateral relations, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) handed over 90 Bangladeshi fishermen for 95 Indian fishermen at the International Maritime Boundary Line, a Defence official said here. The Indian fishermen were handed over by the ICG to the district magistrate of West Bengal's South 24 Parganas near Sagar Island on Monday, he said. The operation was the result of mutual efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), West Bengal government and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) in maintaining maritime relations between India and Bangladesh, the Defence official said in a statement. He said that on December 9, 2024, ICG apprehended two Bangladeshi fishing trawlers FV Laila-2 and FV Meghna-5 with 78 fishermen on board, engaged in fishing within Indian waters. The Centre accorded approval for the repatriation of 78 crew members along with two Bangladeshi fishing boats and an additional 12 crew of sunken Bangladesh fishing b

Fishermen who went to sea in 324 boats from Mandapam north coast of Ramanathapuram district on Dec 7 were fishing near Delft Island in Palk Bay Sea area when Sri Lanka Navy arrived and seized 2 boats

The Sri Lankan Navy on Sunday arrested 12 Indian fishermen and seized their trawler for allegedly poaching in its territorial waters, according to an official statement. With the latest arrest, the number of Indian nationals apprehended this year by the island nation in such incidents has risen to 462. The fishermen were arrested, and their trawler was seized off the coast of Point Pedro, Jaffna, in the northern province, the Sri Lanka Navy said in a press release. The 12 apprehended fishermen were escorted to the Kankesanthurai Harbour and will be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for further action, it said. The Sri Lankan Navy has "held 62 Indian fishing boats and 462 Indian fishermen in island waters thus far in 2024 and handed them over to authorities for legal action," the statement said. The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing thei

In a major boost to the fisheries sector, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh is slated to inaugurate more than 125 projects at the Fisheries Summer Meet to be held in Madurai, Tamil Nadu on Friday, according to ministry officials. These initiatives, approved under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), represent a total investment exceeding Rs 100 crore. The ministry officials said the diverse array of initiatives includes fish retail kiosks, shrimp hatcheries, brood banks, ornamental fish units, biofloc units, fish feed mills, and fish value-added enterprises. PMMSY, a flagship programme of the Centre, aims to foster sustainable development in the fisheries sector. While details of specific financial assistance were not disclosed, the scheme is expected to significantly bolster local businesses and enhance the country's fisheries output. The event will also see Singh distribute grants to 12 winners of the inaugural Fisheries Startup Grand Challenge, organised by the ...

From June 1, the government has converged two insurance schemes for fishermen to bring down the premium burden and also ease implementation issues

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday claimed that prime ministers from the Congress displayed indifference about Katchatheevu island and gave away Indian fishermen's rights despite legal views to the contrary. Prime ministers such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi dubbed Katchatheevu, given to Sri Lanka in 1974 as part of a maritime boundary agreement, as a "little island" and "little rock", he told a press conference, asserting that the issue has not cropped up abruptly but was always a live matter. It has been frequently raised in Parliament and has been a matter of frequent correspondence between the Centre and the state government, Jaishankar said, adding that he has replied to the chief minister at least 21 times. Attacking the DMK over its public posturing against the agreement, Jaishankar said its leader and then chief minister M Karunanidhi was kept fully informed about the agreement, first reached in 1974 between India and Sri Lanka. The Congress and DMK ..

The Tamil Nadu unit of BJP and the PMK on Sunday flagged the arrest of 21 more fishermen by Sri Lanka and urged the Centre to swiftly secure the release of fishers and their boats. Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai and PMK top leader Anbumani Ramadoss said 21 fishermen have been arrested by the island nation. Also, their two boats have been seized. The fishermen were arrested on the night of March 16 by Lankan authorities. Writing to External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, Annamalai said: "We bring to your kind attention the detention of 21 fishermen from Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy and 2 fishing boats belonging to these fishermen were also apprehended. We request the intervention of our External affairs ministry to facilitate the early repatriation of the detainees and the release of their fishing boats." Annamalai posted a copy of his letter to the minister on 'X'. In a post on 'X', Anbumani, also a Rajya Sabha MP, said during the past one week, as many as 58

Emphasisng the importance of securing their well-being, Goyal stated, "I think that India has successfully delivered on the issues that were our role and has achieved the outcomes that we expected"

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. The Navy continues to conduct regular patrols and operations in Sri Lankan waters to curb illegal fishing practised by foreign fishermen as they have a direct impact on the livelihood of locals, 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 poachin

"They were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy while fishing near Delft island, and subsequently taken to Myalati Naval Camp, Jaffna for further investigation," an official stated

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 23 Indian fishermen and seized two trawlers for allegedly poaching in the island nation's waters, according to an official statement here. The fishermen were arrested, and their two trawlers were seized on Saturday north of the Delft Island, Jaffna, the Sri Lanka Navy said in a press release on Sunday. The 23 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. "The Sri Lanka Navy conducted a special operation to chase away Indian poaching trawlers from Sri Lankan waters on the night of February 3, 2024. The operation resulted in the seizure of 2 Indian trawlers and the apprehension of 23 Indian nationals poaching in the northern waters of Sri Lanka, off the Delft Island in Jaffna, the statement said. The Navy conducts regular patrols and operations in Sri Lankan waters to curb illegal fishing practices by foreign fishing ...

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 18 Indian fishermen and seized their trawlers for allegedly poaching in the island nation's waters, an official statement said on Wednesday, in the third such incident this month. The fishermen were arrested, and their two trawlers seized on Tuesday off the coast of Mannar in the northeast, the Sri Lanka Navy said in a press release. The 18 apprehended fishermen were escorted to the Thalpadu Pier in Mannar and will be handed over to the Talaimannar Fisheries Inspector for further action, it said. On Sunday, as many as ten Indian fishermen were arrested, and their trawler seized for allegedly poaching in the island nation's waters, while 12 Indian fishermen were apprehended on Saturday. The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan territorial waters. T

The Sri Lanka Navy has arrested 14 Indian fishermen and seized their trawler for allegedly poaching in the island nation's waters, taking the total number of arrests this year to nearly 240. These fishermen were arrested on Sunday off the coast of Karainagar in the northern Jaffna peninsula, the Navy said in a release on Monday. So far this year, some 240 Indian fishermen, along with 35 trawlers, have been arrested for illegal fishing. Earlier on December 6, at least 21 Indian fishermen were similarly arrested with their four trawlers seized in the northeastern waters off Mannar and Kovilan. Last week, referring to the recurring problem of Indian fishermen doing illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters, Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda told Parliament that it needs a top-level diplomatic solution between the two nations. The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait an

At least 21 Indian fishermen have been arrested for allegedly poaching in Sri Lanka's territorial waters, the island nation's Navy has said, taking the total number this year to 195. The Indian fishermen were arrested and their four trawlers were seized on Wednesday in the northeastern waters off Mannar and Kovilan. The Navy said in 2023 they had arrested 195 Indian fishermen for poaching in Sri Lankan waters. The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan territorial waters. The Palk Strait, which is a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries. There have been periodic instances of Indian fishermen being arrested by Sri Lankan authorities for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line and ...

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday said the continued attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy shows the Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "weak". Chairing a fishermen's welfare conference here, he reiterated that retrieval of Katchatheevu, an island ceded to Sri Lanka by way of mutual agreements in 1974, was the permanent solution for the plaguing fishermen issue. Stalin, who is the ruling DMK President, also said his father and late chief minister M Karunanidhi had provided a report that Katchatheevu belongs to India. The Chief Minister's reference regarding the ceding of the island comes days after PM Modi said it was the Indira Gandhi government which gave the Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka in 1974. Modi had also said the current DMK government in Tamil Nadu keeps writing to him urging to retrieve the island. Stalin further alleged attacks on Indian fishermen from the state by the Lankan navy has increased during the current NDA .

Eight Indian fishermen detained by the Iranian authorities for allegedly entering their waters without permission have been released by the Middle East nation, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said on Wednesday. In a Malayalam Facebook post, Muraleedharan said natives of Anchuthengu in Kerala are also among the fishermen who were released by Iran recently. The minister said the information about the fishermen's release was given by the Ambassador of Iran to India, Iraj Elahi, who met him at his office in New Delhi on Wednesday. Muraleedharan thanked the Government of Iran for the release of the Indian fishermen. He also sought intervention for the early release of the remaining fishermen. On June 29, Muraleedharan had met the families of seven fishermen from Kerala at a church nearby Anchuthengu and assured them of all possible efforts to release them. Out of seven fishermen from Kerala, five are from Anchuthengu in Thiruvananthapuram district, and two are fr

Seventeen fishermen were rescued alive after their trawler capsized in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday, officials said. The incident happened around 25 km away from Patharpratima in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district when the fishing trawler was returning from the sea due to a warning of inclement weather, they said. As this trawler, named 'FB Prasenjit', capsized due to rough waves, and the fishermen fell into the sea, a nearby trawler came to their rescue. The rescued fishermen were brought to Kakdwip, officials said. The trawler went out to the sea five days back to catch hilsa, they said. More trawlers are being sent to the sea to recover FB Prasenjit, they added.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the issue of protection of the traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen. Pointing to Wickremesinghe's two-day official visit to the country this week, Stalin outlined 'retrieval' of Katchatheevu island and addressing the genuine aspirations of the Tamil-speaking people in Sri Lanka as matters of great concern to the people of Tamil Nadu. At the invitation of Prime Minister Modi, Wickremesinghe is set to visit India on an official visit on July 21. This will be his first visit to the country since assuming the 'current responsibilities,' according to the External Affairs Ministry. Stalin, writing to Modi, said it is imperative to protect the social, political, cultural and economic rights of the Tamils in Sri Lanka so that they could lead dignified lives as equal citizens. "For this purpose, there must be adequate and meaningful devolution of