Mechanised boat operators in the state witnessed huge losses during the current fishing season, which ended April 15. The government has announced fishing holiday from April 15 to May 31.
During the 2011-12 season, boat operators lost around Rs 50 crore as operational expenditure increased and shrimp catches fell 60-70 per cent, PC Appa Rao, president, AP Mechanised Boat Operators Welfare Association, said.
There are over 2,000 mechanised boats operating in the state, of which about 600 are in Visakhapatnam and 700 in Kakinada. The remaining are at Machilipatnam, Nizampatnam, Krishnapatnam and Vodarevu fishing harbours.
Normally, each mechanised boat catches 400-500 kg shrimp and two to three tonne fish during its 15-day voyage. However, this season shrimp catches declined to 100-150 kg per voyage. Each kg shrimp fetches on average Rs 300.
“For 15 days we should spend Rs 1.5-2 lakh on diesel, food, wags and other operational expenses. To recover this, we need around 400 kg shrimp and two to three tonne fish, but due to low catches, operators have lost between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh on each voyage,” he added. Apart from this, fish prices have also fallen to Rs 15-20 per kg compared with last year’s Rs 25 per kg, he stated.
In view of this, about 50 per cent boat operators stopped fishing activity after three-four voyages while the remaining closed their operations from January and February, two months early from the actual fishing holiday, he said. Also, 50-60 mechanised boats have been converted into long liners to catch Tuna.