Overview

• Eight fishermen from Rameswaram were arrested north of Mannar on June 29 after their mechanised trawler IND-TN-10-MM-773 allegedly crossed the International Maritime Boundary Line.
• Naval authorities handed over the detained crew and their boat to the Fisheries Inspectorate in Mannar to face legal proceedings for illegal fishing.
• Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin has written to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar seeking urgent diplomatic intervention for the fishermen’s safe repatriation.
• Fishermen’s associations in Rameswaram condemned the arrests as unjust and demanded a permanent bilateral fishing agreement plus compensation for disrupted livelihoods.
• The incident reflects a recurring pattern of Sri Lankan maritime boundary enforcement in the Palk Strait that has strained India–Sri Lanka relations and unsettled coastal communities.