23 T.N. fishermen held for poaching by Lankan navy

Sub : IR

Sec: Places in news

Context:

The Sri Lankan Navy arrested 23 Indian fishermen from Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and poaching in the Palk Bay near the Katchatheevu islet.
Fishermen associations have urged the Union government to secure their release.

Background of the dispute:

The India-Sri Lanka fishermen issue has been ongoing for decades, centred around fishing rights and marine boundaries in the Palk Strait, a narrow body of water between Tamil Nadu in India and Northern Sri Lanka.
Indian fishermen, attracted by the richer marine resources in Sri Lankan waters, often cross the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and enter Sri Lankan territory.
This has led to frequent arrests and sometimes even violent encounters with the Sri Lankan Navy, which accuses Indian fishermen of depleting fish stocks and damaging the marine ecosystem using mechanized trawling techniques that harm local fisheries.

Katchatheevu Island:

Katchatheevu is a small, uninhabited island located in the Palk Strait, about 15 miles northeast of Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.
In 1974, under a bilateral agreement, India ceded control of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. This agreement was later reaffirmed in 1976 through a maritime boundary demarcation, which also involved India giving up fishing rights in the area.
Although the agreement stipulated that Indian fishermen could access Katchatheevu for resting and drying nets, enforcement of boundaries has often led to disputes.