Fishing activity has been more or less paralysed on the Kakinada coast with the steep rise in diesel prices. Due to the rising expenditure on deep-sea fishing, mechanised boat operators are skipping two trips a month, with thousands of crew members of fishing boats losing their livelihood in the process.
Since July, several hundreds of mechanised boats had to venture into the sea for fishing only once instead of thrice a month. The State government is now offering a subsidy of ₹9 per litre on diesel for marine fishing boats. The subsidy cap is 300 litres per month per mechanised boat that actually requires 3,000 litres per month for deep-sea fishing.
“At Kumbabhisekham landing point in Kakinada, at least 200 mechanised boats are now fishing only once a month. The expenditure on fishing has increased up to ₹20,000 to ₹30,000 per trip,” said Vasupalli Rambabu, president of Kumbabhisekham Fish Landing Centre. Each trip concludes within ten days.
In East Godavari, a total of 450 mechanised boats are engaged in deep-sea fishing, with their goal being to net the prized tuna fish.
In a cascading effect, the price of ice has also increased. The ice is used by mechanised boats to keep their daily catch fresh. “The irony is that exporters are offering less price on the fish catch citing the rise in the fuel price and transportation cost,” added Mr. Rambabu.
The mechanised boat operators are demanding that the State government increase the subsidy cap on diesel given the impact of its price on marine fishing.
“If the mechanised boats skip two trips a month, thousands of workers will, directly and indirectly, be impacted,” said Mosa Peturu, a mechanised boat owner.
In East Godavari district alone, over 5,100 fibre boats are engaged in fishing within the 50 km-distance from the shoreline. Irrespective of the catch, the fibre boats had to reduce their area of fishing to save on fuel, according to boat operators of Ameenabad Fish Landing Centre.
