MADURAI: Sixteen Tamil Nadu fishermen were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly trespassing into the territorial waters of the island nation on Wednesday evening.

VP Sesuraja, president of the Traditional Indian Fishermen Welfare Association, said those arrested fishermen set out to sea off Rameswaram by two mechanised boats on Wednesday after obtaining permit tokens from Fisheries Department.

Condemning the arrest, he said it was unfortunate that the fishermen were being arrested frequently. He sought the intervention of state and central government authorities to help get them released from Sri Lanka.