Colombo (
AsiaNews) - As of today, India and Sri Lanka will release all fishermen and
vessels of the respective counterparty , arrested and held in custody in recent
years. The
decision is the result of a meeting that took place yesterday in New Delhi
between Sri Lankan Minister for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Rajitha
Senaratne and Sharad Pawar, Indian Minister for Agriculture .
Also
today, the two countries will discuss the problem of trawling, which is
practiced by India but causes severe damage to the Sri Lankan ecosystem.
Specifically,
New Delhi will release 160 Sri Lankan fishermen and four boats, in turn Colombo
will set free 236 Indian fishermen and 90 vessels. Senaratne
has called the talks "highly
fruitful". At the request of
the Indian government, the minister added that he will soon be taking the
necessary measures to reduce fishing -related disputes between the two
countries.
For
over 10 years New Delhi and Colombo have been at loggerheads over the ongoing
trespassing of fishermen, which especially irritates the governments of the
coastal states of India and the islands of the Bay of Bengal. In
recent years, India and Sri Lanka have had their crews imprisoned several times
for having invaded territorial waters.