The dispute between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka over fisheries resources north of the Jaffna peninsula has come to a head.
Consequently, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has issued an unofficial threat to the Sri Lankan government against the arrest of the Tamil Nadu fishing vessels poaching in the high seas off the Sri Lankan coast by the navy.
Stalin has reportedly said that the Sri Lanka Navy has blatantly violated the traditional fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen.
He states that it was a challenge to his country.
The Chief Minister has written to the Indian External Affairs Minister to express his deep disappointment over the unfolding events where the Sri Lankan Navy arrested 14 Tamil Nadu fishermen on November 16 and seized their mechanised boat.
The 14 Indian fishermen, residing in Karaikkal, Pudukottai, and Nagapattinam districts of Tamil Nadu, and their vessels crossed the international maritime boundary and were caught by the Sri Lanka Navy last Wednesday (16) morning when they were engaged in fishing in the sea off Nadunthivu in Jaffna.
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in a letter addressed to the Indian Foreign Minister, has strongly suggested that the Central government should immediately intervene in the matter to secure their release.The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has also suggested that the Central Government of India should officially protest these continuous arrests of Indian fishermen through diplomatic channels.
He says that 198 Tamil Nadu fishermen have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy this year alone.
Chief Minister Stalin says that the livelihood of many fishermen who are totally dependent on the fishing industry has been destroyed due to the frequent imprisonment of their fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, seizure of their boats, and damage to the vessels.
