Fishermen struggle to stay afloat as fuel subsidy gets swallowed in no time

NAGAPATTINAM: Fishing is another sector affected by the price hike. Fuel expenditure is proportionate to the size of the boat. There are two types of vessels engaged in fishing at Nagapattinam: Mechanised and motorised (FRPV).

Mechanised boats
Mechanised boats are further classified as mini trawlers (for one-day fishing trips), trawlers (three-day fishing trips) and gillnetters (a week-long fishing trips). The diesel subsidy quota for mechanised boat owners is 1,800 litres a month. These days, mechanised boats exhaust that quota within just 10 days of fishing.

The daily expenditure for a mechanised fishing boat comes up to about Rs 1,00,000. It includes Rs 70,000 a day for fuel, with the rest going into items such as ice, food, and other ration supplies. Depending on the number of days the vessel will be at sea, the expenditure for fuel alone could go up to Rs 4,50,000.

The profits are shared among the boat owner and the fishermen. “The boat owners spend much of their profit to pay the fishermen. They face losses if the catch is insufficient. A boat owner is responsible for ensuring the livelihood of the fishermen and other workers so that they turn up for work the next day,” said S Mohandas, a fishermen’s representative from Akkaraipettai.

Motorised boats (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic Vallam)
An FRPV fishing trip lasts about a day. There are 25-30 such fishing trips a month. The diesel subsidy for fibreglass boat owners is 300 litres a month. They exhaust that in just eight to 10 fishing trips. The boat owners are thus forced to manage the remaining fishing trips without subsidy.

An FRPV owner spends about Rs 7,000 per fishing trip. This includes Rs 4,000 for fuel. The boat owner shares about 70 per cent of the profits with his men. If the fishermen do not fetch their owner a catch worth over Rs 7,000, the boat owner faces a loss and has to spend his savings to pay his men.

“FRPV fishermen are always under pressure to strike a balance between their safety and the fish-to-fuel efficiency. When the availability of fish is low, the fishermen tend to steer onto disputed territories such as the waters around the IMBL,” said M Durgeswaran, a fishermen’s representative from Kodiyakarai.