Sri Lanka detains 13 more Indian fishermen
Recently, Sri Lankan authorities have detained 68 Indian fishermen and 10 boats. According to him, these fishermen were fishing illegally in the waters of Sri Lanka.
India has taken up the issue of early release of Indian fishermen and boats with the Government of Sri Lanka.
Reasons responsible for India-Sri Lanka fishing dispute
Lack of defined maritime boundary:
- Although India and Sri Lanka signed four maritime boundary agreements between 1974-76, there is no well-defined maritime boundary between the two countries.
- The 1974 agreement between the two countries handed over the resource-rich Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka. Tamil fishermen had traditional fishing rights on the island for centuries.
Rigorous Monitoring:
- Since 2009, the Sri Lankan Navy has tightened surveillance of its northern maritime border to prevent a possible return of Tamil insurgents.
- It is the depletion of marine resources (due to continued bottom-trawling) along the Tamil Nadu coast that attracts Indian fishermen to the relatively resource-rich Sri Lankan waters. Sri Lanka banned bottom-trawling in its waters in 2017.
Source – The Hindu
