Chinese engines destroy marine wealth

Visakhapatnam: The fish wealth grossly damaging the Bay of Bengal with the usage of China made 840 CC engines for fishing. As there is no enforcement in fixing the high-speed engines to the fishing boats, the mechanised boat operators are importing China made high horsepower engines and fixing the same to the boats.

The mechanised boat operators, who are using India made 160 CC engines, are losing the revenue as the China made engine boats catching a huge quantum of fish. With this, Andhra Pradesh Mechanised Boat Operators Association urging the government to bring an Act to stop the usage of the high-speed engines for the fishing.

Meanwhile, the fish wealth was dwindling due to high-speed engines, which have been disturbing the blue waters. During the fishing, the China engine boats catching small fish, which is not suitable for eating. However, the operators are not grading the fish on the boat and bringing the same to the shore.

“We caught between the devil and deep sea following the dwindling of the catch. The association is urging the government to ban the China-made 840cc engines which dominate the most of the catch available in the waters. Expecting big catch during the voyage, we are venturing into the sea, but returning with the poor catch. 

For the second year in a row, this time the situation is quite distressing for us”, President of Andhra Pradesh Mechanised Boat Operators Association PC Appa Rao told The Hans India. The association has already brought the issue to the government notice about the threat to the fish wealth seeking immediate action to curtail the use of high-speed engines, Appa Rao added.

Dolphin Boat Operators’ Welfare Association president Ch Satyanarayana Murthy alleged that of the operators illegally using the speed engine boats to travel much longer distance at high speed in which the marine wealth was badly affecting.

Mechanised boat with HP of 108 travels at a speed of three km per hour against the minimum speed of six km per hour by engines powered by higher capacity. The high-speed boat, after hauling the net, gets two-times more catch within two to three days than what a normal boat collects in two weeks, Satyanarayana explained.