The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : Foreign vessels invite protests

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 07, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Foreign vessels invite protests

By Our Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM, JAN. 6. Mechanised boat operators fear that their economy would be ruined if foreign fishing vessels are not withdrawn immediately.

The representatives of the Andhra Pradesh Mechanised Boat Operators' Association (APMBOA) and the Andhra Dolphin Boat Operators Welfare Association (ADBOWA), who held informal talks, appealed to the State and Central Governments not to allow foreign vessels.

Fishing harbour, where most of the fishing boats were lying idle due to high voyage cost, was agog with the talk that some more Taiwanese trawlers would land here. Five Taiwanese trawlers are now anchored at the fishing jetty. "At a time when we are gearing up for tuna fishing, granting of permission to foreign vessels has come as a big setback to us. Tsunami has already damaged our boats and nets," the ADBOWA general secretary, Ch. Satyanarayana Murthy, told The Hindu on Thursday.

Space crunch

The fishing jetty is facing severe space crunch for local boats. Eight to 10 trawlers, which were submerged in the sea, were yet to be removed from the shore. Most of the boats were tied to the jetty.

"Under these circumstances, we wonder how permission was granted for berthing of five foreign vessels,'' asked the APMBOA president, P.Ch. Appa Rao, said.

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