Making announcements through public address system, the fisheries department officials on Wednesday cautioned fishermen not to cross the IMBL under any circumstances.
The fishermen had ventured into the sea after observing a day-long strike on Tuesday after the Sri Lankan Navy personnel arrested 22 fishermen from Rameswaram and impounded three of their mechanised boats last week.
The fishermen leaders had demanded the Union government to immediately intervene with the Sri Lankan government and bring back the arrested fishermen. “In the last 10 days alone, 36 fishermen from Rameswaram, Pudukottai and Nagapattinam districts were arrested and five boats have been impounded under charges of poaching,” they added.
The Fisheries Department officials said that they had issued 507 tokens and around 2,500 fishermen ventured into the sea.
Through the Public Address System, the fishermen were also told to carry their Aadhaar cards and identity cards issued by the Fisheries Department.
