The All Trawler Fishermen Association here, condemning the arrest of 30 fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday, has passed an unanimous resolution to stage an indefinite strike from Saturday.
The resolution passed by the fishermen leaders said their strike to stay off the sea was necessitated to grab the attention of the Union and State governments to bring a permanent solution to the issue.
They urged the State government to take stringent action against the Karaikal fishermen, who were using high horsepower engines on bigger boats to wipe off the marine resources available in the Gulf of Mannar region and along the coast. “Due to this, the fishermen from the Ramanathapuram district are often left with very little quantity of fish,” it added.
Further, it also condemned the act of the Karaikal fishermen who were deliberately flouting International Maritime Boundary Line rules and other regulations on the sea. This, they said, were resulting in the unnecessary arrest of the fishermen from the Rameswaram region. The fishermen associations appealed to the governments to expedite the process of disbursing the relief fund for the arrested fishermen and damaged boats locked in the Sri Lankan waters.
They added that they would stage a demonstration outside the Fisheries Department office in Rameswaram.
Published – October 10, 2025 10:55 pm IST
