Fishermen gear up for new fishing season as annual ban set to end on June 14 midnight in Andhra Pradesh

The 61-day annual fishing ban or conservation period for marine species along the Visakhapatnam coast is all set to end on June 14 midnight. About 60% of the 685 mechanised boats and 80% of the 1,271 motorised boats are ready to resume deep sea fishing from the zero hours on June 15 (Thursday). Visakhapatnam Fishermen’s Youth Welfare Association leader Arjili Dasu said that all the boats would not resume their voyage on the first day. This has been attributed to a number of factors including the shortage of labour, issues in logistics such as incomplete repair or general maintenance of boats, non-availability of ice, funding and even health issues.

The 61-day annual fishing ban or conservation period for marine species along the Visakhapatnam coast is all set to end on June 14 midnight. About 60% of the 685 mechanised boats and 80% of the 1,271 motorised boats are ready to resume deep sea fishing from the zero hours on June 15 (Thursday).

Visakhapatnam Fishermen’s Youth Welfare Association leader Arjili Dasu said that all the boats would not resume their voyage on the first day. This has been attributed to a number of factors including the shortage of labour, issues in logistics such as incomplete repair or general maintenance of boats, non-availability of ice, funding and even health issues.

Vaisakhi Dolphin Fishing Boat Owners Association (Dolphin Boat Owners Association) vice president Dhoni Nagaraju said that only 60% of mechanised boats were able to load the ice to their boats before resuming fishing activity. The reason is that three of the 12 ice plants inside the fishing harbour have been closed and boat owners have bought the ice from other places such as Anandapuram on the city outskirts.

Due to the shortage of ice, boat owners have bought ice at ₹1,700 per tonne this year, when compared to ₹1,600 per tonne last year. This apart, many of them do not have enough money to run a boat on a 15-day trip into the sea, he added.

“A boat owner needs to spend a minimum of ₹3.5 lakh to ₹4 lakh. He then expects at least ₹7 lakh to ₹8 lakh worth of catch to continue the business. We have no problem with fishing, but the price of fish varieties such as tiger prawn is not being increased annually, especially in Andhra Pradesh. A kg of tiger prawn at our end is ₹950 while the same variety is sold for ₹2,000 to ₹2,500 in Karnataka,” Mr. Nagaraju told The Hindu.

A mechanised boat with eight to 10 crew members sail from Visakhapatnam to Kolkata as part of the 15-day trip, while motorised boats with four to six crew members have to complete the fishing activity in a day as they do not have enough storage capacities among other issues.

The fisherfolk annually celebrate Gangamma Jatara before resuming fishing after the ban. Thousands of fisherfolks offered prayers to the Goddess on Tuesday.