12 fishermen arrested by Lankan navy

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 12 Indian fishermen and seized their trawlers for allegedly poaching in the country’s territorial waters.The fishermen were arrested off the coast of Vettilaikerni in northern Jaffna district on Wednesday, the Sri Lankan Navy said in a statement. They are currently detained at Kankesanthurai fishing harbour, it said.“Sri Lankan Navy has stepped up its patrols and operations in the country’s waters to curb illegal fishing practices of fishing trawlers,” it said. The Island nation’s Navy has arrested 264 Indian fishermen and seized 36 trawlers this year. Illegal fishing in the Sri Lankan waters by Indian fishermen has been a recurrent problem despite many high-level talks held between the two sides.In the past, the Sri Lankan Navy personnel has even fired at Indian fishermen in Palk Strait and seized their trawlers in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan’s territorial waters.