Marine Fisheries of Andhra Pradesh: A Decadal Analysis

The average annual marine fish landing of Andhra Pradesh during 2000-2010 was 1.99 lakh t. Fishing effort declined by 33% \nand 9% in terms of fishing units and fishing hours respectively. Pelagic finfishes contributed 55.6% to the total marine catch, \nfollowed by demersal finfishes (27%), crustaceans (14.4%) and molluscs (1.1%). Trawl nets contributed 44.24% to the total \ncatch, followed by gillnets (23.95%). Oilsardine landings fluctuated between a maximum of 19125 t in 2000 and a minimum \nof 1068 t in 2002. Mackerel landings fluctuated between a maximum of 22763 t in 2009 and a minimum of 6418 t in 2007. \nCarangids and tunas registered continuous increase in catch over the years; the former from 9964 t in 2000 to 13268 t in 2010 \nand the latter from 2899 t in 2000 to 10515 t in 2010. Around one third of the tuna landing was contributed by the yellowfin \ntuna, Thunnus albacares, caught mainly by hooks and lines. Their landing increased on an average at Visakhapatnam from \na meager 395 t during 2001-2005 to 2918 t during 2006-2010. Landings of some of the demersal resources namely, threadfin \nbreams, croakers, lizardfishes and goatfishes increased substantially during the period. Threadfin bream increased by 348.9% \nfrom 1209 t in 2000 to 5427 t in 2010, croakers by 50.8% from 8054 t in 2000 to 12142 t in 2010, lizard fish by 297.7% from \n1062 t in 2000 to 4224 t in 2010 and goat fish by 129.3% from 3501 t in 2000 to 8027 t in 2010. Among crustacean resources \ncrabs showed the highest increase in landings by 125.4% from 2791 t in 2000 to 6292 t in 2010. The landing of penaeid \nprawns increased by 21% from 22657 t in 2000 to 27408 t in 2010, while non-penaeid prawn landings decreased by 12.3% \nfrom 2685 t in 2000 to 2354 t in 2010. Cephalopod resources have also shown a substantial increase of 282% during the \nperiod ranging from 1011 t in 2000 to 3862 t in 2010. The assessment of trawl fishery at Visakhapatnam from 2007 to 2010 \nwith reference to yield/recruit indicated that two (Metapenaeus monoceros and Portunus sanguinolentus) out of the twelve \ncommercially important resources are currently overexploited and one resource (Pennahia macrophthalmus) is optimally \nexploited.