Mechanised boats were brought to the fishing harbour here on Saturday as the annual fishing ban or holiday, is being observed between April 15 and May 31.
The ban came into force from Saturday midnight following the circular issued by the Ministry of Agriculture. The compliance to the order in the entire east coast is mandatory failing which the authorities will slap a penalty as well as resort to seizure of the vessels.
This year's annual ban has begun with high expectation. In fact, a section of boat owners, who were shaken terribly due to falling catch, had sought enforcement of the ban for 60 days instead of 45-47 days. The ban has been observed every year for the past 15 years to allow breeding with the hope of a good catch once all motorised vessels are allowed to venture into the sea during post-ban period.
“This year was very bad with our operational cost exceeding our returns from fishing. The diesel cost has reached Rs.45 a litre. We pray to God that due to good monsoon rain we will have a good catch once the season begins on June 1,” P.Ch. Appa Rao, president of AP Mechanised Boat Operators' Association, told The Hindu on Saturday.
About 600 mechanised boats are operated from Visakhapatnam. Catamaran and other traditional boats without the use of motor are exempted from the ban. The ban period will be used by the boat owners for maintenance work such as painting, repair and replacement of spare parts and engine overhauling.
“We burnt our fingers last season with heavy losses. Hopefully, this time we can get good returns. Otherwise, we have to sell our boats,” said Ch. Satyanarayana Murthy, president of Dolphin Boat Operators' Welfare Association.
Fishing industry sources said due to depleting catch and heavy losses, 15 to 20 boats were sold off as of now. All the boats sold were new boats purchased with an investment of Rs.23-24 lakh and sold for Rs.15-16 lakh. “They were inducted into fishing just a year ago,” a boat owner said.
