Seven Rameswaram Fishermen Detained Near Katchatheevu: The Palk Bay Fishing Dispute Explained
The Sri Lankan Navy detained seven fishermen from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu near the Katchatheevu islet in the Palk Strait. Their boat was also taken.
Sri Lanka says such fishermen cross the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), the agreed sea border between the two countries, and fish illegally in its waters.
Fishermen's associations in Rameswaram condemned the detention and asked the Indian and Sri Lankan governments to secure their quick release.
Such arrests happen many times every year. The Sri Lankan Navy reported 346 Indian fishermen arrested in 2025, and 128 by mid-April 2026.
Katchatheevu: History and Legal Status
Katchatheevu is a small, uninhabited island of about 285 acres in the Palk Strait, the narrow sea between Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka. It lies about 33 km north-east of Rameswaram. India recognised it as part of Sri Lanka under a 1974 agreement. Its only building is St Anthony's Church, which holds a yearly festival attended by pilgrims from both countries.
The seven fishermen were caught near Katchatheevu, on Sri Lanka's side of the boundary. Fishermen's groups and Tamil Nadu often argue that getting back the island or fishing rights around it would end such arrests, while Sri Lanka holds that the 1974 and 1976 agreements settle the question.
Fishermen Issue in India-Sri Lanka Bilateral Relations
The fishermen issue is the long-running problem of Indian fishermen, mostly from Tamil Nadu, crossing the sea boundary into Sri Lankan waters to fish, and being arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy. The Palk Bay is narrow, fish are richer on the Sri Lankan side, and fishing families on both sides depend on the same sea. This makes it one of the most sensitive issues between the two neighbours.
This detention is one more case in a repeating pattern. A lasting answer, experts say, depends on ending bottom trawling, helping Indian fishermen move to deep-sea fishing, and regular talks through the Joint Working Group, rather than case-by-case releases.
- Fishermen detained: 7, from Rameswaram (Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu)
- Katchatheevu: about 285 acres, uninhabited, in the Palk Strait; St Anthony's Church festival held every year
- India-Sri Lanka maritime boundary agreements: 1974 (Palk Strait, Katchatheevu) and 23 March 1976 (Gulf of Mannar and Bay of Bengal)
- Wadge Bank (near Kanniyakumari): in India's EEZ
- Sri Lanka banned bottom trawling: 2017
- India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries: set up November 2016
- Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka: 346 in 2025; 128 by mid-April 2026 (Sri Lankan Navy figures)