Eight fishermen from Rameswaram held by Sri Lankan Navy personnel on charges of poaching

Sri Lankan Navy personnel arrested eight fishermen and impounded a mechanised trawler on charges of poaching in the wee hours of Sunday (June 29, 2025).

According to information available in Rameswaram, the arrested fishermen were being taken to the Naval Port in Talaimannar in Sri Lanka.

Fisheries Department officials said that on Saturday (June 28, 2025), tokens were issued to 466 boats. Fishermen from Verkodu, Mandapam and Rameswaram had ventured into the sea and were set to return to shores on Sunday with their catch.

The names of the arrested fishermen were given as S. Jesu (39) (owner and driver), N. Annamalai (55), V. Kalyanaraman (45), S. Syed Ibrahim (35), N. Muneeswaran (35), U. Selvam (29), Gandhivel and another person. It is said that the fishermen were fishing near Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar during which time, they were apprehended by the Lankan Navy personnel.

Condemns arrest

As the news about the arrest spread in the coastal habitation, the families expressed concern and shock. “Only on June 15, the two-month annual ban period had ended and our men had just set off into the sea for work this season. To be precise, this is the fourth time, they have gone to sea in the last 12 days. The SL Navy had secured our people on false charge,” a fisherman in Rameswaram and Thangachimadam said.

Fishermen association leader J.R. Jesu Raja said the Union government should strongly take up the issue with its counterpart and bring about a permanent solution. “We are tired of agitations and deeply depressed over the state of affairs,” he added.

Antony, a mechanised boat driver in Mandapam said in recent times, the Sri Lankan government imposed hefty fines and also ordered imprisonment under the guise of repeating the offence. The fishermen in the region have been traditionally using the Palk Straits for fishing. “Such attacks showed us in poor light. Our debts are rising. If the governments also remained mute spectators, we have no other option, but to stay away from work,” he added.