Overview

• Fourteen fishermen from Ramanathapuram were apprehended on August 7 and had their mechanised fishing boat and an unregistered country craft seized.
• The detainees were taken to the Puttalam Navy camp for interrogation, marking the 17th such incident in 2025.
• Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has written to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar calling for immediate diplomatic intervention to secure their release.
• Stalin highlighted that 80 fishermen and 237 boats remain in custody and warned that the nationalisation of high-powered vessels threatens coastal livelihoods.
• The recurring detentions reflect unresolved maritime boundary ambiguities following the 1974 cession of Katchatheevu and have intensified demands for a formal fisheries agreement.