Visakhapatnam district fisheries joint director K. Laxmana Rao has again warned seagoing fishermen that action will be initiated against them if they used ring nets for fishing within the eight-kilometre area from the shore. The joint director reminded fisherfolk about the order of AP High Court 2021 as well as the AP Marine Fisheries Regulation Act of 1994 and Central Marine Fisheries Act of 1958. These prohibit fishermen having license to use ring nets from deploying their nets beyond eight kilometres from the shore.
Currently, no fisherman has the ring net licence, as licenses issued in the past have expired and none of them have been renewed so far. Explaining the reason for issuing a fresh warning, Laxmana Rao said he has received complaints from traditional fishermen that some fisherfolk are still using ring nets illegally. Local fishermen leader Teddu Shankar said, “In spite of the High Court orders and police warning from time to time, some Peda Jalaripeta fishermen have resumed fishing with ring nets. They stopped after police personnel led by ACP A.N. Murthy and joint collector Mayur Ashok arrived at the fishing village and held a meeting with them.”
In 2022, there had been a flare up when two groups clashed in mid sea and boats had been burned on the shore. Section 144 had been imposed and fishing banned for a week. The issue got resolved with the intervention of the then fisheries minister Seedari Appala Raju and joint collector S. Viswanathan. A committee headed by Viswanathan set the boundaries for fishing in the sea off the Visakhapatnam coast.
Ring nets are mostly used by fishermen of Jalari Endada and Asavanipalem. Traditional fishermen from Peda Jalaripeta strongly raised the issue with police and fisheries department officials, pointing out that if ring nets are allowed, there will be nothing left for them to fish. Fisheries joint director said all ring net owners had been asked to surrender their ring nets by February 15 this year. But none of them surrendered their ring nets, though the deadline has expired. In Visakhapatnam, there are 2,400 boats that go out fishing in the sea. Of them, 90 fishermen own ring nets. Others use gillnets, trammel nets, and hook and line. Ring nets lead to over exploitation of fish resources and pose challenges to livelihood opportunities of local fishermen.