On Tuesday, 41 Indian fishermen who were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy arrived at Chennai Airport. Authorities have confirmed that they will now be sent to their respective districts. Out of 41, 35 who were arrested on September 8, 2024, near Katchatheevu belonged to the Ramanathapuram district. 

According to the Sri Lankan Navy, they were involved in cross-border fishing, which is a common problem in the area. The frequent detentions of Indian fisherman have been addressed in part by their release. 15 Indian fishermen who had also been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy were freed and sent back to Chennai earlier this month on January 16. In 2024, these arrests happened in two different incidents: on September 27, eight fishermen were arrested near Mannar Island and on November 11, 12 more from the Nagapattinam area were arrested. 

Their release was granted after the interventions of the Union and Tamil Nadu governments. Additionally, the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department made sure they reached their native place safely.  The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) assisted in the repatriation of four fishing boats and 95 Indian fishermen from Bangladesh on January 5 in a related occurrence. The Bangladesh Coast Guard recently carried out an exchange, which included the return of 90 Bangladeshi fishermen, 12 of whom were rescued from a sunken fishing boat. The repatriation took place at South 24 Parganas in West Bengal, where the Indian fishermen were handed over to state fisheries officials.

In recent months, there have been multiple instances of fishermen from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India being arrested for unintentionally trespassing international maritime borders. Officials emphasised the necessity of ongoing diplomatic initiatives to resolve these issues and safeguard fishermen's livelihoods. A degree of assistance has been provided to impacted families by the acceleration of repatriation procedures through initiatives by the Indian government and international coordination. MK Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, urged Union External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar earlier in December to start working diplomatically right once to get the captured fishermen and their fishing boats released from the Sri Lankan Navy's custody.