128 International Journal of Advanced Science and Research ISSN: 2455-4227 Impact Factor: RJIF 5.12 www.allsciencejournal.com Volume 2; Issue 5; September 2017; Page No. 128-134 Economic viability of motorization of traditional fishing crafts along Andhra Pradesh coast 1 Venkata Raju G, 2 Myla S Chakravarty, 3 Ganesh PRC 1 Centre for Monitoring and Evaluation, National Institute of Rural Development, Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad, India 2, 3 Andhra University, Department of Marine Living Resources, College of Science and Technology, Visakhapatnam, India Abstract Economic viability of the non-motorized (NM) fishing craft in relation tomotorized-outboard motor (M-OBM) and inboard motor (M-IBM) fishing crafts at three selected coastal marine fishermen villages- Bandaravanipeta in Srikakulam district, Danavaipeta in East Godavari district and Kothapatnam in Prakasam district belonging to three distinct coastal zones of Andhra Pradesh for a period of two years (2003 and 2004). Among the motorized crafts, the returns form M-OBM crafts is fairly good since there flexibility of fishing in the near-shore as well distant-waters. But in the case of M-IBM crafts, the operations are strictly meant for distant water fishing and there is risk of venturing into the deeper regions and also low rate of return on investment (RRI). High operational cost of about 35% to 42% of fuel (diesel) involved in the fishing trips in case of motorisation. Net return per trip by NM was the highest (Rs 15,428) at Danavaipeta at Bandaravanipeta (Rs 42,290) by M-OBM and by M-IBM at Kothapatnam (Rs 43,495). Rate of return was higher in NM boats (33.49%) than in M-IBM (13.99%). Break-even catch were also estimated. Keywords: motorization, traditional fishing crafts, economic viability, Andhra Pradesh Introduction Success of any technology depends on its suitability and economic viability. It is a well known that those technologies, which can replace the old and traditional practices, are treated to be more adaptable and their sustenance is time-tested through propagation and endurance. Some of the novice technologies may take new shapes in the course of time before they are finally accepted. Motorization of traditional fishing crafts is such an attempt, which has been introduced in the year 1986 in Andhra Pradesh. It has taken many turns before it has finally taken roots into the system but the economics of the fishing operations by NM, M-OBM and M-IBM is still lacking along Andhra Pradesh coast and hence the present study has been carried out. Krishna Iyer [1] analyzed the cost-benefit of fishing trawlers in Kerala. In a study undertaken on the economic efficiency of the gears operated by the sailboats in Tamil Nadu coast, Sathiadhas [2] has reported that non-mechanized sailboats operating gill nets were economically more efficient than the engines fitted boats. Annamalai [3] studied investments and returns of traditional fishing crafts of twelve selected fishing villages in Kerala and recorded 11.2%, 18.06% and 30.05% by large craft, small craft and medium crafts respectively. According to Sehara et al. [4] medium trawlers are economically more efficient in Saurastra region (Veraval, Mangrol, Porbandar and Okha) of Gujarat coast. Sathiadhas and Panikkar [5] observed the enhancement of earnings of the boat owners by increasing number of gears during their study economics of catamaran fishing along Madras coast. Siluvai Raj et al. [6] studied the economic performance of fishing units in the backwaters of Kerala. Manohar Doss et al. [7] conducted a study on the economic performance of fishing crafts in the coastal villages of Veraval coast in Gujarat. Other investigators also concentrated on the economic performance of the traditional fishing crafts [8, 19] . The present study analyzes the comparative economic performance of non motorized and motorized fishing crafts. Material and methods The nine coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh have been divided into three distinct zones- South, Central and North. The north zone consists of Srikakulam, Vizianagarm and Visakhapatnam districts. The central zone includes East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna. The south zone comprises Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore. Basing on different fishing practices by traditional fishing crafts (NM, M-OBM and M-IBM) and the implementation of motorization three fishing villages one in each zone namely Bandaravanipaeta (Latitude 18 o 21’ N; Longitude 84 o 08’ E) of Srikakulam district in the north zone, Danavaipeta (Latitude 17 o 10’ N; Longitude 82 o 27’ E) of East Godavari district in central zone and Kothapatnam (Latitude 15 o 27’ N; Longitude 80 o 12’ E) of Prakasam district of south zone have been selected as sampling stations for the study (Fig.1). A survey has been carried out at theses three fishing villages and primary data collected from 744 samples during 2003 and 2004 have been used for a comparative economic analysis and evaluation of the economic viability of the different traditional fishing crafts. The variables selected for the study are described below