Daijiworld Media Network - Rameswaram
Rameswaram, Feb 23: In yet another incident, the Sri Lanka Navy arrested 12 fishermen from Pamban and impounded a mechanised trawler on charges of poaching in the Palk Strait in the early hours of Monday, February 23, 2026.
According to Fisheries Department officials, the seized boat is owned by David from Pamban. The 12 fishermen on board were detained while fishing between the waters of Katchatheevu and Mannar.
The fishermen had ventured into the sea on February 22 and were expected to return by noon on February 23. After preliminary interrogation, they were taken to the naval port at Talaimannar, officials said.
Condemning the arrest, fishermen leader Jesu Raja expressed shock and said that only last week, 22 fishermen were arrested and four trawlers were impounded by the Sri Lankan Navy.
“With just a few days left for the annual festival at St Antony’s Church in Katchatheevu, such incidents have created disharmony among the fisherfolk,” he said. He added that though Sri Lankan authorities had invited Indian pilgrims for the two-day Katchatheevu festival, repeated arrests were causing mental agony.
“We are unsure whether to accept the invitation and participate in the celebrations or stay back,” he said, recalling that similar arrests had taken place last year close to the festival.
Meanwhile, fishermen leaders said that despite a recent court directive to release six trawlers, around 10 fishermen from Rameswaram who travelled to Sri Lanka to retrieve their boats returned empty-handed.
They alleged that while waiting in court, officials informed them that boat owners would also be booked as accused under poaching charges. “Only intervention by the Union government can provide a permanent solution to this recurring issue,” Jesu Raja said.
A boat owner further claimed that advocates in Sri Lanka were unwilling to represent them in court, leaving them without legal support. He urged the Union government to direct officials at the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka to take up the matter to secure relief for the affected fishermen.