Calling for strong measures to desist Sri Lanka from indiscriminately arresting fishermen and impounding their boats, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday urged the Union Government to be proactive in protecting fishers from the state.

In a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, he expressed anguish at the recent arrest of 37 fishermen and seizure of their boats and nets. Even as the Chief Minister dashed off a missive, the island navy has arrested five more fishermen and impounded their vessel.

With the arrest of fishermen becoming a routine and creating a political furore, this is a second letter from Stalin within a month. The 37 fishermen, from the coastal Poompuhar, were arrested on September 21for fishing in Sri Lankan waters while five others were arrested from Kanniyakumari, the reports said.

Stalin, in his letter, has requested the Union Government to secure the release of the fishermen and their vessels at the earliest. While Colombo has been releasing the fishermen after a couple of months of incarceration, the boats are not and are left to rot.

“As I have been pointing out, such instances of arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen while fishing in their traditional fishing waters have been on the rise. Besides this, the Sri Lankan courts are levying penalties beyond these fishermen’s means. Strong steps must be taken to prevent the Sri Lankan authorities from apprehending fishermen and their boats,” he said in his letter.

Recently, a Sri Lankan lower court had imposed Rs 10 crore as penalty on 45 fishermen from Thoothukudi and Rameswaram on the charge of illegally engaging in fishing in the island nation’s territorial waters. Further, reports said that some of the arrested fishermen lodged in prison have been tonsured.

Meanwhile, fishermen from Mayiladuthurai have expressed serious concern over the fishermen of mechanised vessels using the purse seine nets. Those arrested from Poompuhar were found to be using the nets for bottom trawling, detrimental marine resources and the livelihood of the fishing community. They have been protesting against a section of their community using the purse seine nets in violation of the rules. They have been demanding a blanket ban on it.