Request to allow Indian fishing folk to enter Sea of Sri Lanka rejected

COLOMBO (News 1st); Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda said a request by the Tamil Nadu government to allow Indian fishing folk to engage in fishing in the Sea of Sri Lanka was rejected.

He said the request was made over the phone by Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister Anitha R. Radhakrishnan.

During the telephone conversation, the Fisheries Minister of Tamil Nadu had requested permission to enter the Sea of Sri Lanka for a limited time, until a solution is found to the fisheries issue between the two countries.

Speaking to News 1st, Minister Douglas Devananda said the fisheries issue can only be discussed after the Tamil Nadu government assures that Indian fishing folk will not enter the Sea of Sri Lanka.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry, PC said the Indian government is yet to respond to the request to resume Indo-Sri Lanka fisheries talks.

The last time the issue was discussed was in March 2022.

The court recently sentenced five Indian fishing folk who were found guilty of entering the Sea of Sri Lanka for the second time and entering the Sea of Sri Lanka using GPS devices.

Thereafter, Indian fishing folk launched protests in various areas including Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, while the Sri Lankan fishing folk raised black flags and protested at the Indo-Sri Lanka maritime border on Saturday (02).

Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda said there is a decrease in the number of Indian fishing folk entering the Sea of Sri Lanka due to the protests launched by Sri Lankan fishing folk.

However, 88 Indian fishing folk and 12 vessels were arrested and seized by the Sri Lanka Navy for entering the Sea of Sri Lanka, in the first two months of 2024 alone.