The Sri Lanka Navy arrested 22 Indian fishermen on Saturday for alleged illegal fishing in the island nation’s waters and seized three fishing vessels. The fishermen were arrested from the North Sea near Delft Islands during a search operation conducted on Saturday night.

Navy Spokesperson Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya said that the arrested fishermen would be taken to Kankesanturai fishing harbor for further legal proceedings. Last week, in another incident, four Indian fishermen were arrested and their trawler was seized by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly poaching in the island nation’s waters.

Tamil Nadu fisheries officials said the arrested fishermen were from Rameswaram, Mandapam and Thangachimadam coastal areas in Ramanathapuram district. After the arrests, Tamil Nadu fishermen said they would go on strike in protest.

The issue of the fishermen crossing territorial waters has been a longstanding dispute between India and Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Navy says they have arrested 204 fishermen and seized 27 trawlers in 2024 for alleged illegal fishing, including this incident. The numbers are almost 75 percent of the approximate 240 to 245 held similarly in 2023.

The majority of the incidents happen in the Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka’s northern tip, which is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries. Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Fisheries has said that the issue of alleged illegal fishing by Indians would be discussed with External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S Jaishankar when he visited Sri Lanka on June 20, 2024. This statement came in from the Ministry after the arrest of four Indian fishermen.