37 Chinese and two Sri Lankan crew on board the trawlers were being escorted to Trincomalee after their arrest off the eastern coast of Batticaloa last night, Navy spokesperson Kosala Warnakulasuriya said.
Local authorities said the Chinese are allowed to do deep sea fishing 200 nautical miles off Sri Lanka's coast however the arrested trawler was poaching just 10-15 nautical miles east off the Batticaloa coast.
Sri Lankan fishermen lament that local authorities are turning a blind eye to poaching by Indian and Chinese fishermen who deprive them of the catch in the nation's waters.
