Sri Lankan fishermen detained in Seychelles

The Seychelles Fisheries Authority (SFA) and the Seychelles police are conducting an investigation into a case of suspected illegal fishing by a Sri Lankan vessel in the country’s waters.

In a joint communique on Thursday, the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture of Seychelles, SFA and the Seychelles Coast Guard said that the flagless vessel was intercepted on Saturday during a routine patrol.

Seven crew members of Sri Lankan nationality were found onboard. After Initial search by the Coast Guard officers, fresh fish, salt and fishing gears were found onboard the vessel which was escorted to Port Victoria for further investigation.

This is the fifth suspected illegal fishing case since the beginning of 2019. Three out of the five resulted in prosecution by the Supreme Court of Seychelles.