MADURAI: Twelve Tamil Nadu fishermen were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy on grounds of trespassing into territorial waters of Sri Lanka on Tuesday. A mechanised boat, in which the fishermen sailed, was also detained.

The fishermen ventured into the sea off Rameswaram on Monday evening after obtaining permit tokens from the Department of Fisheries.

On Monday (December 22), around 450 fishing tokens were issued to fishermen operating from the Rameswaram fishing jetty, indicating a large-scale fishing operation in the region ahead of the Christmas and New Year period.

According to an agency report, the seized trawler belonged to Jothibas, a fisherman from Manthoppu in Thangachimadam. Though the vessel was reportedly not formally registered with the authorities, it had obtained a fishing token, raising questions about regulatory lapses.

The fishermen were reportedly engaged in fishing activities in the waters between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar when they were intercepted by a surveillance unit of the Sri Lankan Navy.

Fisheries department officials said the Sri Lankan naval patrol apprehended the fishermen and escorted them, along with their mechanised trawler, to a naval port in Sri Lanka for further legal proceedings.

The arrested fishermen have been accused of crossing the maritime boundary and fishing illegally in Sri Lankan waters, a charge that Indian fishermen frequently dispute, citing the narrow and contested nature of the fishing zone.

Condemning the arrest and demanding the release of TN fishermen from Sri Lanka, the fishermen lodged a protest at Thangachimadam.

S Emarit, secretary, Ramanathapuram District Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association, said a protest demanding the fishermen’s release would also be held in Rameswaram on Friday. He urged the immediate intervention of central and state governments for the release of detained Tamil Nadu fishermen at the earliest.