Fishermen’s spirit dampens over heavy operational cost

Visakhapatnam The fishing harbours in Andhra Pradesh have turned a beehive of activity as the new season post 61-day conservation period known as annual ban is all set to begin from the early hours of Thursday.

Due to heavy demand, the price of ice has gone up steeply. Only a dozen ice plants which supply the raw material to the mechanised boats in Visakhapatnam-a major fish landing centre and a leading harbour for exports of seafood is witnessing a severe shortage. As a result, tokens are being issued to boat operators for delivery on the ‘first come first serve’ basis.

The price per tonne which used to be around Rs 1,400 was jacked up to Rs 1,900 this season. On a fervent appeal by the boat operators’ associations, the owners of ice plants reduced it to Rs 1,500 per tonne. The reasons for increase in prices are attributed to increase in labour cost and periodical increase in electricity charges entailing a heavy burden on the ice plant owners.

Ice is required in plenty for the mechanised boats to store while on a voyage. Besides Visakhapatnam, AP has fishing harbours at Kakinada, Bhairavapalem, Nizampatnam, Machilipatnam, Krishnapatnam and Bhavanapadu. Due to high cost of operation following increase in the price of diesel and crew, almost 30 per cent of owners of 1,500 to 1,600 mechanised boats are not venturing into the sea.

“This time there is no enthusiasm among most of the boat operators due to high cost and depleting catch forcing us to struggle a lot to meet our voyage cost,” Ch Satyanarayana Murthy, honorary president of Dolphin Boat Operators’ Welfare Association, told Bizz Buzz on Tuesday.

As part of their tradition, fisherwomen in various parts of the States offered prayers to Gangamma-the Goddess of Water, offered pot loads of milk, water and flowers to the sea with prayers for a good harvest and safe return of their men after the voyage.

Lack of pre-monsoon showers and the increase in diesel per litre price to Rs 110 have dampened the spirit of the fishermen. Some of them are opting to use biodiesel, which is available in limited quantities for Rs 80 per litre. For a full voyage of 15 to 20 days, the operation of a boat costs around Rs 3.50 lakh forcing many to opt for short voyage for a week or so.

Fishermen from Visakhapatnam generally head towards the north and prefer to catch fish near Gopalpur and beyond in Odisha. Of late, they are unable to get large quantities of tiger and white shrimp, which are in high demand in the export market. They mostly get brown shrimp, which is generally priced at Rs 450 per kg without heads and tails. Due to assured returns, 40 per cent of boat owners have converted their vessels into long-liners to catch tuna, which is popular for its culinary taste and medicinal value.

Cold Fishing Season

• The price of ice has gone up to Rs 1,900 per tonne

• Ice plants facing shortage issue tokens to boat operators

• With diesel price at Rs 110 full voyage costs Rs 3.50 lakh

• Boat owners converted vessels to catch tuna