15 Indian fishermen nabbed with trawler

The Sri Lanka Navy has apprehended fifteen Indian fishermen along with a fishing trawler while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters off the Kovilan Lighthouse in Karainagar early this morning.

 

The fishermen and the trawler were brought to the Kankesanthurai Harbour and will be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for onward legal proceedings.

 

With this recent apprehension, the Navy has seized a total of 16 Indian poaching trawlers and 125 Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters in 2024, and subsequently had handed them over to authorities for legal proceedings.

 

The Navy said they continue to conduct regular patrols and operations in Sri Lankan waters to curb illegal fishing practices of foreign trawlers, taking into account the impact of those practices on the livelihoods of local fishermen.