MADURAI: Twenty-seven fishermen were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy personnel late Saturday night on grounds of cross-border fishing in territorial waters of Sri Lanka, sources said.
P Jesuraja, president, Ramanathapuram District All Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association, said those 27 fishermen ventured into the sea with five boats, which were also detained by the authorities.
While four boats set out to sea off Rameswaram, the other boat sailed off Mandapam on Saturday morning.
Fishermen aboard two boats were detained near Talaimannar and three other boats near Jaffna.
Demanding their early release, the fishermen of Rameswaram have planned an indefinite strike from Monday and will lay siege to the Pamban road bridge on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the International Fishermen Development Trust (INFIDET) has demanded the early release of 32 Indian fishermen, who belong to Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Justin Antony, president of INFIDET, said they were detained in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) by Diego Garcia authorities on September 27 on grounds of crossing marine boundaries.
Based on the request, the EAM has stepped up efforts to help release them from their detention. Meanwhile, in another meeting to review progress in Thengapattanam Harbour works in the Kanniyakumari district at the Harbour Office on Tuesday, several fishermen from Thoothoor and Enayam regions placed demands including inspection of documents related to harbour construction, construction works, and solving the issue of shortage of stones for construction work.