Thirty two Indian fishermen from Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are feared to be detained at British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) of Diego Garcia. According to sources, two deep sea fishing vessels Al-Ameen and Mermaid with their crew members are held at Diego Garcia since March 1. Al-Ameen is owned by K S Hussain had 15 crew members on board including 6 from Thoothoor coastal panchayat in Tamil Nadu and the rest from Poonthurai, Vizhinjam and Ernakulam in Kerala. Mermaid owned by Judy Albert had 17 crew members including eight from Thoothoor and others from Puthiathurai, Pulluvilai, Vizhingam and Parasala in Kerala. The fishing boats left Kochi on February 5th and were supposed to return after a month long fishing expedition. “We have learnt that the two fishing vessels are held at Diego Garcia, 1500 nautical miles away from India. The families of the fishermen here are worried. We have informed the local fisheries officials and plan to petition the district administration on Monday,” said Jose Bilbin, president of Thoothoor deep sea fishermen cooperative society. The community received information after apparently the fishermen called their family about the situation. However, fisheries officials said that they are yet to receive official confirmation. “Fishermen have informed us that two fishing vessels have been detained by British Navy at British Indian Ocean Territory of Diego Garcia. We are waiting for the official confirmation from the central government”, said deputy director of fisheries, Lamek Jayakumar. Thoothoor fishermen are skilled in deep sea fishing and known for their daredevil acts of exploring oceans with their traditional navigation skills with minimum equipment. In 2015, a number of fishing vessels from the coastal panchayat were apprehended in BIOT, Bangladesh and Seychelles. Following these arrests, local authorities took out various measures to create awareness and sensitize fishermen about not venturing into foreign waters. “They sail deeper as fish stock gets depleted in nearby waters and thus land in trouble”, Bilbin added.