Tunisia seizes 2 Egyptian fishing boats after entering territorial waters

CAIRO – 1 January 2021: The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Thursday night said Tunisian authorities have seized another two Egyptian fishing boats for illegally fishing in the Tunisian territorial waters.

This comes less than two weeks after the ministry said 17 Egyptian fishermen onboard a boat were seized in Tunisia for the same reason.

The movements of the two Egyptian boats in Tunisian waters prompted the authorities to arrest them and take them to the naval base in Sfax, said Amr Abbas, assistant foreign minister for consular affairs and Egyptians abroad.

Abbas said the ministry is following up, in coordination with the embassy in Tunis, developments related to the conditions of detained fishermen to ensure their safety.

The ministry is also following up on developments of the investigations and is coordinating with the Tunisian authorities to return the seized fishermen to the homeland, Abbas added.

Abbas appealed to the Egyptian fishermen to refrain from entering the territorial waters of other countries, out of respect for their sovereignty, to preserve their lives, and to avoid falling under the laws of these countries.