97 Indian fishermen currently in custody of Sri Lanka: Jaishankar in RS

NEW DELHI: A total of 97 Indian fishermen are currently in the custody of Sri Lanka, of which 83 are serving sentences, three awaiting trial and 11 were apprehended on Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed the Rajya Sabha.

Replying to supplementaries during question hour, Jaishankar said India is trying to engage with Sri Lanka to take a humanitarian approach to the issue, even as the Centre is finding long-term ways, including installing transponders on fishing boats, to ensure that such a situation does not recur.

Jaishankar said the decisions which were taken in 1974 and 1976 are today the root cause of the situation the country is facing.

"Right now the situation is that till yesterday there were 86 Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody. Today, one more trawler has been apprehended and so 11 more fishermen. All together, 97 of them are in custody. Eighty three are serving sentences, three are awaiting trial and 11 have been apprehended today," he informed the Upper House.

He said among those who are today serving sentences, many of them are owners of boats or they are repeat offenders and that has been the challenge in dealing with the issue.

Jaishankar said that "in a way our government has inherited a problem".

The minister said this problem began in 1974 when the international maritime boundary was drawn by the then Union government in consultation with the state government. Then in 1976, an exchange of letters happened where the fishing jurisdictions were delineated, he said.

"So the decisions which were taken in 1974 and 1976 are today the root cause of the situation we are facing," the minister said.

"We are trying to engage the Sri Lankan government to get them to take a humanitarian issue," he further said.

"Also, what we are trying to do is through the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojna, we are trying to get as many boats fitted with transponders so that inadvertent crossing are minimised," he said.

"So our efforts are on diplomatically to release people, in terms of our colleagues from the department of fisheries to fit the transponders so that there are no inadvertent crossings, and meanwhile we are trying to see if we can give them alternate solutions so that this situation does not occur," he noted.

Asked about long-term plans of the government for ensuring the safety of fishermen, the minister said the long-term plan rests on two initiatives -- one is the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojna.

"It has an allocation of Rs 20,050 crore, and the purpose of it is to fit boats with transponders, so that you don't have this kind of inadvertent crossing, acquisition of boats, nets and training, to look at supporting deep sea fishing vessels and giving them equipment and giving them alternatives," the minister said.

Jashankar said the idea is to provide alternatives. But, to do this, he said, "we need the cooperation of the state government and we need the fishermen committees also to cooperate with us so that there is an understanding of what it is which will minimise the risk to our fishing communities".

In his written reply to a starred question, the minister said, "Indian fishermen are arrested from time to time by Sri Lankan authorities for inadvertently crossing

the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and fishing in Sri Lankan waters."

He said a total of 147 fishermen have been apprehended in 2025 by Sri Lanka, of which 135 are from Tamil Nadu and 10 from Puducherry.

In 2024, he said a total of 560 Indian fishermen had been apprehended by Sri Lanka, of which 526 were from Tamil Nadu and 29 from Puducherry, besides some from other states.

The minister also said in his written reply that in 2025, 76 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and nine from Puducherry have been released, while in 2024 501 Tamil Nadu fishermen and 29 Puducherry fishermen were released.