Tamil Nadu Fishermen Urge Centre To Help In Releasing 40 Fishermen Held By Seychelles & Indonesia

After the arrest of eight Kanyakumari fishermen in Indonesia, another 32 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and one fisherman from Thiruvanthapuram were arrested at Seychelles in South Africa

Fishermen moving the boat during rough sea | Credit:Pixabay

Chennai: Tamil Nadu fishermen association urged the Centre to bring back Indian fishermen arrested by Seychelles and Indonesian authorities this week. After the arrest of eight Kanyakumari fishermen in Indonesia, another 32 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and one fisherman from Thiruvanthapuram were arrested at Seychelles in South Africa.

According to a report on IANS, Justin Antony, President of International Fishermen Development Trust (Infidet) in a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind, PM Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, Seychelles authorities arrested 32 Indian fishermen recently. The Indian fishermen who ventured into the sea from Kochi travelled to a place around 2,700 km away from the harbour due to the bad weather. 

As the fishermen unknowingly entered the foreign country's territorial waters, they have been arrested by the African authorities, he said.

Antony said, the Indian consular office is assisting the fishermen and extending their support.

Meanwhile, Charles, secretary of South Asian Fishermen Fraternity said, eight fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Kerala who ventured into the sea from Andaman were detained by Indonesia.

Stating that both the incidents were due to bad weather, the fishermen organisations demanded the PM, President and External Affairs Minister to work towards the immediate release of Indian fishermen.

The arrest of the fishermen by the two countries come amid tensions between Indian fishermen and Sri Lankan Navy. The Sri Lankan Navy has recently arrested Tamil Nadu fisherfolk by alleging that they crossed the IMBL and even auctioned their seized boats recently.