Naval vessels attached to the Northern Naval Command on routine patrol arrested 29 Indian fishermen and 7 Indian fishing trawlers engaged in bottom trawling in the seas off Delft on 12th February 2014.
The arrested fishermen and trawlers were handed over to the officials of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Jaffna for legal action.
SLN was compelled to make the arrest since the Indian fishermen were poaching well within the Sri Lanka’s territorial waters despite the recent talks held between the two neighboring countries and breaching the pledges of refraining from crossing the IMBL and bottom trawling.
[mappress] Press Release, February 17, 2014; Image: Sri Lanka Navy