Amid violence in Bangladesh, Indian authorities apprehended two Bangladeshi fishing trawlers with 78 people on board. The group had been fishing within Indian waters when they were caught by the Coast Guard ship during patrolling.
Upon inspection, the vessels were found to be involved in illegal fishing activities. One of the most popular delicacy in Bengal and is used in many dishes, shutki machh or dried fish that are largely consumed in Bangladesh are made up of combining three fishes and the fisherman were in search of those fishes, according to sources.
The incident comes mere days after the ICG apprehended a group of four people from Myanmar for crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line.
“In a swift operation, the India Coast Guard apprehended two Bangladeshi fishing trawlers along with 78 crew for unauthorised fishing in Indian waters. The vessels have been brought to Paradip for legal proceedings,” read an official update shared via X.
Authorities had identified suspicious activity within the Indian Maritime Zone while patrolling along the IMBL and intercepted the two fishing trawlers. One vessel was identified as ‘FB Laila-2’ with 41 crew members while the second — called ‘FB Meghna-5’ had 37 fishermen on board.
According to details shared by the authorities, both the trawlers were registered in Bangladesh. The boats were reportedly inspected at sea before being booked and escorted to Paradip for further investigation.