Navy headquarters yesterday said that approximately 500 Indian fishing trawlers were observed operating close to Iranativu and Delft islands and north of Talaimannar on Monday.

About 200 Indian trawlers were sighted off Talaimannar and Delft last week.

Navy officers said that they have noticed an increase in the number of Indian fishing trawlers entering the Sri Lankan waters in the past two weeks. Indian trawlers and Sri Lankan trawlers regularly violate each other’s waters.