Fishers and the line in the sea

Who gets detained, and where

The Ministry of External Affairs gives Parliament yearly counts of Indian fishermen apprehended by neighbouring countries. Matsya collects them, without names, into one table (Matsya dataset).

Sources: Rajya Sabha unstarred questions 2315 (12 Mar 2026), 1352 (30 Jul 2026) and 2779 (19 Dec 2024). A person apprehended twice is counted twice.

Sri Lanka accounts for most apprehensions, and its series is the longest. It peaked at 787 in 2014, fell to 74 in 2020, and rose again to 560 in 2024.

Tamil Nadu fishermen were 526 of the 560 apprehended by Sri Lanka in 2024, and 317 in 2025. On 31 July 2026, 27 Tamil Nadu fishermen and 249 Tamil Nadu boats were held in Sri Lanka (Lok Sabha starred question 281, 7 Aug 2026). Sri Lanka seized 75 Indian boats in 2024 and 48 in 2025 (Rajya Sabha question 1352).

Pakistan apprehends far fewer now, but people stay held. In the list exchanged on 1 January 2026 under the 2008 agreement on consular access, Pakistan acknowledged custody of 199 Indian or believed-Indian fishermen; MEA said 183 of them had completed their sentences (Rajya Sabha question 1514, 12 Feb 2026). In December 2024 MEA said 1,173 Indian boats had been seized by Pakistan, a number Pakistan does not acknowledge (Rajya Sabha question 2779).

The lines, and how exact they are

• Sri Lanka. A 1974 agreement fixes the boundary in the historic waters of the Palk Strait, and a 1976 agreement extends it through the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal (1974 text, 1976 text, UN DOALOS). Under the 1974 agreement Indian fishermen and pilgrims may visit Kachchativu without travel documents; a 1976 exchange of letters says Indian vessels shall not fish in Sri Lanka's historic waters, territorial sea or exclusive economic zone (Rajya Sabha question 559, 4 Dec 2025, as compiled in Matsya).
• Maldives. A 1976 agreement sets the boundary in the Arabian Sea, about 545 nautical miles long by Matsya's reading of the text (Limits in the Seas No. 78).
• Bangladesh. An arbitral tribunal fixed the boundary in the Bay of Bengal on 7 July 2014, in WGS-84 coordinates; the award is final and binding (award in PCA case 2010-16, UN Reports of International Arbitral Awards).
• Pakistan. India and Pakistan have not agreed a boundary in Sir Creek or the sea beyond it. Matsya draws a 50 nautical mile caution circle around the creek's mouth, which it labels clearly as not a legal limit, not a claim line and not a safe distance.

The older agreements name no geodetic datum and refer to charts annexed to them, so a position written in them can differ from a GPS reading by tens to hundreds of metres. A phone's distance to the line is therefore an estimate. That is one reason Matsya's boundary check says "For awareness only. Not for navigation." It flags danger under 5 nautical miles from a line, a warning from 5 to 10, and a watch from 10 to 20.

The sea itself

Weather is the other hazard. Eight fishermen who left Odalarevu jetty in Andhra Pradesh's Konaseema district were still missing two weeks after 3 August 2026, with Coast Guard ships searching (Telangana Today, 18 Aug 2026). Matsya rates sea state by harbour using IMD's terms: moderate seas from 1.25 m significant wave height, rough from 2.5 m, very rough from 4 m (IMD terminology), with a watch for long-period swell modelled on INCOIS swell-surge alerts (INCOIS).

In distress at sea, the Coast Guard's toll-free search and rescue line is 1554; on land, call 112.

What would make the sea safer

1. Boundary awareness that never leaves the phone. Matsya computes distance to the nearest line on the device. No position is sent anywhere, so the tool cannot be used to track a boat.
2. Sea-state advisories by harbour, in Tamil, Gujarati and Bengali as well as English, on the free fishers' page. Translations are marked as needing local review.
3. Drift search areas when a boat goes missing. Anvesha turns a last known position into 24 to 72 hour search boxes from modelled currents and winds. Positions are purged when a case closes, and it is never used to enforce the boundary.
4. Counts, not names. Detentions are published at event level only. The point is to inform diplomacy and safety work, not to profile anyone.

Advisory only. For awareness, not navigation. Follow IMD fishermen warnings, INCOIS alerts, the Indian Coast Guard and your state fisheries department.