Pandemic, fuel prices put brakes on fishing in Vizag

Visakhapatnam: FOR over five lakh fisherfolk who depend on catching fish in the sea for their livelihood, the annual holiday known as yearly ban has come into force in Andhra Pradesh months before notification was issued by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy for its implementation for 61 days on the East Coast from April 15.

Fishermen have stopped venturing into the sea due to a variety of reasons viz. Covid-19 pandemic, low remunerative price and exorbitant increase in fuel cost making fishing unviable.

Further, the outbreak of the second wave of the virus has almost brought fishing operations to a standstill.

Visakhapatnam is the largest fish landing centre in India with annual export turnover of Rs 8,000 crore. Other major fishing centres are Kakinada, Nizamapatnam, Machilipatnam and Krishnapatnam.

"The situation is very bad and the fishermen hope that the government will come to our rescue by doling out some sops," Arjili Dasu, a fishermen activist from Pudimadaka, the largest fishing village in AP, told Bizz Buzz.

Fishing ban is enforced every year in the Exclusive Economic Zone beyond territorial waters on the East Coast comprising West Bengal, Odisha, AP, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and on the West Coast consisting of Daman & Diu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep Islands separately for conservation and effective management of fishery resources and sea safety reasons. The ban will be implemented on the West Coast from June 1 to July 31. The ban is applicable for all motorised boats.

While thanking the YSRCP Government for enhancing the compensation being given to each ban-affected fish worker from Rs.4,000 to Rs.10,000, fishermen associations have sought an increase in compensation in view of prolonged loss of livelihood due to the pandemic.

"During the current season, only a few boats could go fishing for just two to three months. I have not sent my boat even for a single day as it is not viable and the pandemic has cast its spell on the fishing community creating a lot of insecurity among them. Jalaripeta, the largest fishemen locality in the city became a hotspot for coronavirus last year as it is heavily populated with no scope for social distancing," said Ch Satyanarayana Murthy, president of Dolphin Boat Operators' Welfare Association. He said it would be better to give rice and other provisions to fish workers due to corona-induced loss of livelihood.

P Ch Appa Rao, president of AP Mechanised Boat Operators' Association said they would be happy if the compensation amount was increased by Rs 5,000 considering the financial impact of the pandemic on the lives of fishermen.

He said due to popular demand for Vannamei (white-leg prawn) by aquaculture farmers, the exporters have stopped buying tiger shrimp. "As a result, the boats which could get some catch, are being forced to sell brown shrimp at Rs 300, white shrimp at Rs 450 and tiger shrimp at Rs 1,100 to the retailers.