An appraisal of the marine fishery resources of Visakhapatnam coast

Located along the east coast of India, between 17 deg 15' N \nand 17 deg 55' N Latitudes (Fig. 1), the Visakhapatnam coast \n(bordering the district of Visakhapatnam) has a special pl;;tce \nin the marine fisheries map of India being the nucieus of d.eep \nsea trawling activities and various other mechanised and \nnon-mechanised gear operations. The range of gear operated varies from the tiny .catamarans to the modern shrimp \ntrawlers with all the gadgets of navigation and fishing. With a \nnumber of fish landing centres dotted along the 130 km \ncoastline, about 19,7351 of fish are harvested annually from \nthe waters of this coast. Apart from this, about 130 large \ntrawlers, 60 mini-trawlers and 100 'sana' boats fishing along \nthe Orissa and West Bengal coasts land their catches at \nVisakhapatnam Fishing Harbour.