In troubled waters: Bio-diesel, ice shortage hit fishing in Andhra Pradesh

Visakhapatnam: New fishing season in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh is set to resume in a couple of days. This follows the end of the 61-day ban on Tuesday. The new fishing season is supposed to resume from midnight on Tuesday. Dolphin Boat Operators' Welfare Association and the AP Mechanized Boat Operators' Welfare Association decided to delay the commencement of the new fishing season by two days due to a shortage of ice and diesel.

General Secretary of Dolphin Boat Operators' Welfare Association, Satyanarayana Surada said they were unable to resume the fishing season from Tuesday midnight due to a shortage of biodiesel (which is Rs10 cheaper than normal diesel) and shortage of ice. We were caught in the troubled waters due to losses in the trade in the past and some of the boat owners quit the trade.

There are over 2,500 mechanized boats in Andhra Pradesh (in Vizag, Kakinada, Machilipatnam, Vadarevu, Kalingapatnam, and others). Diesel is a key element for the fishing industry to run mechanized boats. Out of 2,500 odd mechanized boats, we are expecting 50 percent of boats to undertake the first voyage on Friday. For each voyage (12 to 15 days), the boat owner must invest at least Rs 5.5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh due to the increased prices of oil, diesel, groceries, and a few others.

The fishing trade has been dependent on various factors including weather, market, export atmosphere, and a few others. "But, for the past few years, many of the boat owners have incurred losses", said Mylapalli Ramu, a boat owner in Vizag. The fishermen are hopeful of getting a good catch of Tiger Prawn, White Prawn, Flower Prawn, and Brown Prawn besides popular varieties of fish such as silver pomfret and seer fish this fishing season.

On the other hand, seafood lovers in the state are waiting for the popular variety of fish and quality prawns. Fish and prawns from Vizag harbor are exported to various parts of the country. It is also exported to different foreign destinations.

KEY POINTS

-Andhra Pradesh exported 2,79,992 MT of marine products worth Rs 15,831.74 crore during 2020-21

-Andhra Pradesh has exported 2,93,314 MT of marine products worth Rs15,498.64 crore from 2019 to 2020.

-Andhra Pradesh has been contributing over 45 percent of the total export revenue in the seafood export in the country.

-USA, China, and the European Union (EU) were the leading importers of seafood from the AP

-The price of tiger prawn range between Rs1,000 and Rs1,200 a kg

-The brown prawn fetches Rs350 to Rs400 a kg

-Each boat requires at least 4,000 liters of diesel for a voyage

-Out of 700 odd mechanized boats in Vizag harbor, around 40 percent to undertake their first voyage from Friday