Upset over lack of maintenance of slipway complex, an important part of the fishing harbour here, boat owners have decided to go on strike shortly and block the main entrance channel to the Visakhapatnam Port.
Though the port is the custodian of the fishing harbour, representatives of the industry feel that the prevailing conditions are deplorable.
The annual fishing ban will be observed on the east-coast from April 15 to May 31, which period owners of mechanised boats, mini trawlers, and big trawlers utilise for repair and retro-fitting of their vessels.
“With the prevailing conditions in the cradles and beaching point in the slipway complex, repair is not at all possible. Hence, we have decided to go on lightning strike anytime from now. Boats, which have returned to the harbour, are not undertaking any fresh voyage,” Association of Indian Fishery Industry president Y.G.K. Murty told The Hindu on Thursday.
Blocking of the entrance channel for the first time, should it take place, may stall shipping movement in the port. There are about 600 mechanised boats and 100 mini and big trawlers that operate from the fishing harbour.
AP Mechanised Boat Operators’ Welfare Association president P.Ch. Appa Rao and Dolphin Boat Operators’ Welfare Association president Ch. Satyanarayana Murthy also expressed ire at the dilapidated conditions at the slipway complex.
“Underwater repair is possible only when the complex is in order. But it is full of junk material and totally unhygienic,” Mr. Murthy said.
The association leaders said repeated representations to the port authorities had fallen on deaf ears.
Annual ban is observed every year following dwindling catch with a view to allowing breeding during the period and ensuring better harvest.
