At least 30 Indian fishermen repatriated from Sri Lanka return home

“At least 30 Indian fishermen were repatriated from Sri Lanka on Tuesday (April 7, 2026) and are currently on their way back home,” authorities said.

“30 Indian fishermen were repatriated from Sri Lanka today and are on their way home,” the Indian High Commission in Colombo said in a post on X.

According to the Sri Lanka Navy, till April 2026, 15 trawlers and 102 Indian fishermen have been arrested by the Navy.

“In 2025, some 346 fishermen had been arrested in 44 trawlers while poaching in Sri Lankan waters,” the Navy said.

The Navy spokesman Commander Buddika Sampath told PTI he was not certain which batch of detentions the 30 fishermen were from. “It depends on the court procedure,” he added.

The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan territorial waters.

The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries.

Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other’s waters.