New harbours to put Andhra Pradesh on top in marine fishing

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh, which ranks first in coastal aquaculture and freshwater aquaculture in the country, now aims to be on top in marine fishing. The eight fishing harbours, which will come up in the State in the next 2-3 years, are seen as an important step in that direction.

Experts say that once these new fishing harbours are operationalised, an additional one lakh tonnes of marine catch per annum is expected. Most importantly, these new fishing harbours will double as the safe harbours for fishermen on high seas during cyclones. The construction of eight fishing harbours will be taken up at an estimated cost of `3,000 crore.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation stone for four fishing harbours -- Juvvaladinne (Nellore), Nizampatnam (Guntur), Machilipatnam (Krishna) and Uppada (East Godavari) -- on Saturday to mark the World Fisheries Day. They are estimated to cost around `1,510 crore. Construction of the harbours will be taken up once tenders are finalised in the second week of December. They are expected to get operationalised in two years.

In the second phase, fishing harbours will come up at Budagatlapalem (Srikakulam), Pudimadaka (Visakhapatnam), Biyyaputippa (West Godavari) and Kothapatnam (Prakasam). Along with the existing fishing harbours at Visakhapatnam and Kakinada, the new ones are expected to give much-needed impetus to marine fishing in the State and stabilise the livelihood of 6.2 lakh fishermen in 555 fishing villages along 976 km coastline of AP

“Now, the available infrastructure is not able to cater to the increasing number of fishing craft, which upgraded from the low duty mechanised or motorised craft to heavy duty and deep water vessels, as catch near the shore has become scarce. It is imperative to provide berthing facilities for such craft and the new fishing harbours will bring about a sea change in the economy of the coastal region of the State,” a higher official of the Fisheries Department told TNIE. 

Another official pointed out that fishermen risk their lives everyday to eke out a living and providing better infrastructure and a safe harbour along with a platform to market their catch without much risk or effort is the need of the hour and today a step was taken in that direction. “In the next 3-4 years, we can expect a big change in marine fishing in the State,” he said. 

When contacted by TNIE, P Koteswara Rao, principal of the State Institute of Fisheries Technology in Kakinada, said the new fishing harbours, one each in the eight coastal districts, will increase fishing along the areas, where fishing is comparatively less. “Setting up a fishing harbour in Srikakulam will benefit fishermen of Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts, who largely migrate to other States for livelihood,” he explained. 

According to Rao, in addition to the additional craft getting inducted into service, drying fish will get a boost, which leads to women’s empowerment. The new fishing harbours with facilities for drying fish, ice plants, processing units will lead to creation of ancillary units providing more employment opportunities. “In a nutshell, we can say critical lacunae in the fishing sector are now being addressed on a priority basis,” he said. 

Elaborating further, he said, fishermen who go for deep sea fishing need not worry about sailing a long way to fishing harbour or marketing their catch. They can moor their craft at the nearest fishing harbour, market or auction their catch at that place and leave, he said.

However, not everyone is of the same opinion. There are a few groups among fishermen, who are apprehensive of new changes. “In all probability beach landing of country boats mostly used for traditional fishing will become a problem. Competition will intensify for the limited catch, commercialisation will set in ruining the independent lifestyle of fishermen,” said D Pal of Democratic Traditional Fisheries Workers Forum.

New fishing harbours

Juvvaladinne (Nellore) 
Nizampatnam (Guntur) 
Machilipatnam (Krishna) 
Uppada (East Godavari) 
Second phase Budagatlapalem (Srikakulam) 
Pudimadaka (Visakhapatnam) 
Biyyaputippa (West Godavari) 
Kothapatnam (Prakasam)