NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while replying to a supplementary question in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, informed that 97 fishermen, mostly from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, were in Sri Lankan custody.The Minister was replying to a poser by DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, as he said, “Till yesterday there were 86 fishermen in Sri Lankan custody. Today one more trawler has been apprehended and 11 more have been captured. So, 97 fishermen are in Lankan custody”.Jaishankar said that 83 fishermen were serving sentences, three are awaiting trial and 11 of them have been apprehended on Thursday (March 27).The Minister said that the amendments to two Sri Lankan laws in 2018 and 2023 have introduced stricter penalties, including “stiffer sentences, bigger fines, and greater detentions” and these have been posing a challenge in handling issues. Many of those serving sentences are boat owners, skippers, or repeat offenders, he added.The Minister said, “Our government has inherited a problem. This problem began in 1974, when the International Maritime Boundary line was drawn by the then Union Government with consultations with the state government and then in 1976, an exchange of letters happened where the fishing jurisdictions were delineated.” So the decisions taken in 1974 and 1976 are the root cause of the situation we are facing, he added.The Minister said that the government “engages in periodic diplomatic discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities to secure the release of fishermen and under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, “the Centre is equipping boats with transponders to reduce inadvertent crossings”. Additionally, efforts are being made to identify an alternative solution, he added.
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