Marine boat operators representing various societies from the Kakinada coastal belt met public representatives in Visakhapatnam seeking a permanent solution to use the Vizag harbour for tuna fish landing.
The dispute over landing at the Visakhapatnam fishing harbour with tuna catch has deepened for boat operators from the Kakinada coast.
On Friday, at least two dozen representatives of various marine fishing cooperative societies of the East Godavari district, led by Uppada boat operators, met Visakhapatnam BJP MLC P.V.N. Madhav and discussed the tussle over landing at the Visakhapatnam harbour with the tuna catch.
“Nearly 250 mechanised boats from various fish landing points on the Kakinada coast are engaged in tuna fishing in the Bay of Bengal off the northern Andhra Pradesh coast. However, we are being denied landing at the Visakhapatnam harbour for sale of the tuna and ice procurement,” former president of Uppada Marine Fishermen Cooperative Society Surada Nageswara Rao told The Hindu. Mr. Rao led the talks in Visakhapatnam on Friday.
Boat operators from Uppada, Kakinada, Kumbabhishekam and other fish landing points attended the meeting.
“We seek the intervention of Chief Minister Y.S.Jagan Mohan Reddy to find a permanent solution to our long-pending grievance, which is making way for fish landing at the Visakhapatnam harbour. Denial of landing at the Visakhapatnam habour will make fishing more expensive, forcing us to spend more on fuel and other maintenance for fishing,” Mr. Rao said.
When contacted, East Godavari district Joint Director (Fisheries) P. Jaya Rao told The Hindu: “The issue of using the Visakhapatnam harbour for the fish landing by the mechanised boat operators from our district is yet to be settled. This issue has been taken to the notice of Fisheries Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana”.
The Visakhapatnam boat operators continue to deny the entry of their counterparts from East Godavari to use the Visakhapatnam fishing harbour, reportedly on the grounds of hike in the cost of ice and dip in the prices of tuna fish.
