Overview

• Stalin declared that reclaiming Katchatheevu is the only permanent way to protect traditional fishing rights and end the cycle of arrests.
• He said 1,083 fishermen were arrested and 185 boats seized by the Sri Lankan Navy in the past four years, and although 1,354 detainees have been freed, 23 fishermen and over 200 boats remain in custody.
• The state government has raised compensation for seized vessels to ₹8 lakh for trolley boats and ₹2 lakh for country boats and doubled daily stipends for families from ₹250 to ₹500.
• Tamil Nadu has launched 13 fishing infrastructure projects worth ₹426 crore, allocated ₹46 crore to government fish farms, increased fishing ban relief to ₹8,000, and extended ₹1,528 crore in loans to 1.2 lakh fishermen.
• Stalin has mobilised DMK MPs in Parliament and intensified diplomatic outreach through 77 letters to Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar to secure fishermen’s release.