Sri Lanka navy arrest 9 Indian fishermen

COLOMBO, April 7 (Xinhua) - The Sri Lankan navy arrested nine Indian fishermen for poaching illegally in the island's northern seas on Thursday, the navy media unit said.

One Indian fishing trawler was also taken into custody and the arrested fishermen along with the trawler were handed over to the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of Jaffna, in the north, for onward action.

The arrest comes a day after the Sri Lankan government decided to release 99 Indian fishermen who were in Sri Lankan custody for illegally poaching in the island's territorial waters.

The fishermen are expected to be handed over to the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka this week and will be repatriated in the coming days.

However, four Indian fishermen who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on Monday night for poaching illegally in local waters have not been released.

Sri Lanka and India have been trying to resolve the long standing fishermen issue with fishermen from both sides having to face arrest and boats being detained when they stray into each other's waters illegally.

In February, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj who was in Colombo to attend the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission, held discussions with her Sri Lankan counterpart over the issue and both countries accepted to find a long lasting solution.

Indian media reports recently quoted Swaraj as saying that a meeting of ministers dealing with fisheries from India and Sri Lanka will be convened in May to evolve a mechanism to resolve the lingering issue. Endit