Chennai: Retrieval of Katchatheevu and the release of 76 Tamil Nadu fishermen and their 242 boats from Sri Lankan custody were among the prime issues that + wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise at the meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart Harini Amarasurya, who arrived at New Delhi on Thursday on a three-day visit to India.

In a letter to Modi on Thursday, the Chief Minister said Amarasurya’s visit presented a valuable opportunity to address the persistent challenges and significant hardships faced by Tamil Nadu fishermen in the traditional fishing waters of the Palk Bay due to recurring incidents of harassment, attacks, and apprehensions by the Sri Lankan Navy.

Since 2021, 1482 fishermen and 198 fishing boats had been apprehended in 106 separate incidents, causing distress and economic loss to the fishing communities and the State government had consistently sought the intervention of the Union Government to address these issues through diplomatic channels, he said.

Besides raising the issue with the Prime Minister’s office on 11 occasions, he had made 72 representations to the Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, he said, adding that since the incidents continued to occur unabated, five critical issues needed to be discussed with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister.

Besides the retrieval of Katchatheevu Island that was historically a part of India and in whose surrounding waters fishermen of Tamil Nadu had traditionally fished, he also wanted Modi to press for the prompt release of the Tamil Nadu fishermen and their fishing boats to alleviate the distress of the affected families.

Stalin stressed for bilateral security coordination and consistent diplomatic engagement to put an end to the frequent attacks on Indian fishermen and theft of their fishing equipment and catch, allegedly by Sri Lankan nationals, as those incidents had instilled fear and insecurity among coastal communities.

Since the Katchatheevu Island was transferred to Sri Lanka by the Union Government without obtaining the consent of the State Government and without following due processes, Tamil Nadu fishermen were now restricted access to their traditional fishing grounds and faced frequent harassment and charges of trespassing, he said.

Requesting Modi to initiate dialogues with the visiting Prime Minister for the retrieval of the island, he wanted the ‘restoration of the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen in Palk Bay area’ as it would resolve the longstanding and distressing issues faced by the fishing community.

Referring to the 2018 amendment to the Sri Lankan Fisheries Act that had led to the nationalisation of seized Indian fishing boats, rendering their retrieval impossible and causing severe financial hardship and loss of livelihoods for affected fishermen, the Chief Minister requested that the issue be raised with the visiting Prime Minister to ensure that livelihoods were not impaired permanently.

Stalin also pointed out that the Joint Working Group on Fisheries, established to resolve such bilateral issues, has not been convened regularly in recent years and wanted the revival of the mechanism that would provide a structured platform to address the concerns of fishermen from both nations.