Fishermen associations have submitted a plea to the Commissioner of Fisheries Department R. Gajalakshmi, seeking the release of 14 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who have been imprisoned in countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on charges of poaching.
South Asian Fishermen Fraternity general secretary Fr. Churchill and All Fishermen Association president Nanjil P. Ravi submitted a petition stating that Antonydhas from Colachel in Kanniyakumari district along with Karunakaran, Ashok, Rajan, Murugan, Aruldhas, and Balamurugan from Chennai had ventured into sea on December 23, 2023 from Gujarat and they were arrested in Pakistani waters on December 28, 2023 for allegedly crossing maritime boundary. Additionally, seven fishermen from West Bengal were arrested along with them and all of them had been detained in Karachi prison for the past 14 months.
Similarly, Arul from Muttom in Kanniyakumari district, Sajan, Ayyappan from Nagapattinam, and two other fishermen from Kerala were arrested by Saudi Arabian authorities while fishing on January 1, 2024. Meanwhile, four fishermen from Ramanathapuram district Yesu, Vinodhkumar, Chnadru, and Karthick were arrested by Kuwait coast guard on December 2, 2023 while fishing in deep sea.
Fr. Churchill said Indian and Tamil Nadu governments were immediately informed about the fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan authorities. However, in the case of those arrested by Pakistan, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman and Yemen, there was no immediate communication about their detention or legal proceedings. Lack of information from the embassies in these countries made it difficult for the State government to intervene, resulting in prolonged imprisonment in the foreign prisons.
Another major issue raised was the Tamil Nadu government’s daily relief allowance for the families of detained fishermen. While this scheme had been implemented for some, the families of these 14 fishermen from Tamil Nadu had not received any financial aid. The associations urged the government to provide financial aid immediately to the families of these fishermen.
