There appears to be a scramble for the fishing boats that are being designed and built by the Machilipatnam Boat Building Centre (MBBC). These boats are said to be Tuna fishing friendly and at present Tuna is the catchphrase in deep sea fishing.
Even the mechanised boat operators are making a beeline to acquire these boats that are being built exclusively for Tuna fishing. At present, the MBBC have orders for at least six boats each costing about Rs. 30 lakh. The boats are being built at boat building centre at Gilakaladindi village and they likely to be ready for fishing by May-end. This apart, the MBBC has 10 more orders on hand.
“These orders would be cleared by June as these boats should hit the water by June-end,” K. Venkateswara Rao, a technician of the boat building, told The Hindu .
According to the boat manufacturers, the new boat allows Tuna fishing from the bow side unlike the presently used mechanised boats wherein the gill net is spread from the stern side.
As per the new design, the boats have ample bottom space under the bow, which helps in casting the net from the bow side and is said to be Tuna fishing friendly.
“Above all, fishing with gill net on this boat saves fuel consumption by 60 per cent,” said the staff of the fishing companies based in Machilipatnam.
On the other hand, the fishermen need to stay on the water at the strategic places and catch the Tuna fish instead of roaming on the sea and thus fuel consumption is very less in comparison to the fishing of Tiger Prawn or other varieties of fish. From 2012, the number of boats built here was not more than 10.
The bleak prospectus of the industry had also forced its workers to leave. The changing trends in fishing activity in recent years and boom for the industry have brought the workers back, promising them work and income.
