The present report deals about the

mechanized fish landings of Colachel, economics

of its operations and distribution

pattern of some of the commercially important marine fish during July to September

(1989

Benjamin, R E

Sathiadhas, R

CMFRI Digital Repository

A NOTE ON THE OPERATIONAL COST ANDRETURNS OF SEASONAL "MIXTURE MADI"OPERATIONS ALONG KANYAKUMARI COASTR. SATHIADHAS AND R. E. BENJAMINDept.of Economics,MaduraiKamarajUniversity,Madurai- 21The southwestcoastof Tamil Naduextendsabout58Kms fromCapeComorintoNeerodi. in KanyakumariDistrict. ThisdistrictOat.between8° 51and 8° 2J1N andlong;between77°61and77°341E)is situatedon the southernextremityof the IndianPeninsula.Theinshoreareais sandystrewnwith rocky beds here and there. TheKuzhithurai, Valliyar and Pazhayarriversjoin theseaon thewestcoastof thisdistrict.Thereareabout42fish landingcentresalongthis belt. Higher density of fishermenpopulation,presenceof maximumtypesoftraditionalfishingmethodsand high exper-tiseoncertainfishingtechniquesaresomeoftheuniquefeatureof thisarea. The fishery.of thisregionwasdealtwith by ChackoandGeorge (1958)Padmanaban (1966)andLazarusandJoel (1979).ThefindingsofthePelagicfisheryprojecthaverevealedthehighfisherypotentialof thisregion.Oneof India'srichestfishinggrounds,thewadgeBank(7°201N,77°521E)about10,000Sq.km in areais situated about 56 km south of CapeComorin. Colachel,which is a naturalharbour, is the most important landingcentrein this region.The presentreport deals about themcchanisedfishlandingsof Colachel,eco-nomicsof its operationsand distributionpatternof someof thecommerciallyimpor-24tantmarinefishduringJuly to September(1989).Normally10to20mechanisedboatsregularlyoperatefrom Colachellandingcentre.Butduringthesouth-westmonsoonmonths(JunetoSeptember(1989)thenum-berofunitsgraduallyincreasedandreachedthepeakofabout100bySeptember.Dataonaverageoperationalexpenditure,Specieswisecatchparticulars,marketinganddistributionpatternofcatchwerecollectedondailyba~isby directobservationat Colachelandingcentreduringthisperiod.MechanisedUnitsThemechanisedunitsgoforfishingbyabout4A.M.andreturntotheshorebetween2to5P.M.Thenumberofcrewineachboatrangesfrom6 to8. Theyareoperatingfishtrawllocallyknownas "mixturemadi"or"ropemadi". Thenetlookslike theusualtrawlnetwitha highermeshsizecostingaroundRs. 5000/-. Wagesto thecrewmembersareproportionalto thecatchassharingsystemis followedin theseunits.Theincomeafterdeductingtherunningcostssuchasfuelexpenses,auctionchargesandotherday to dayexpensesi dividedintothreeshares.TheowneroftheunitgetstwosharesforboatandnetandtheremainingisequallydividedamongthecrewmembersasSeafoodExportJournalwages.AveragefuelexpenditurepertripworksouttoRs.400andtheaveragedieselrequirementisabout100litrespertrip.Theaveragenumberof mechanisedboatsoper-atedatColachelwas30duringJune1989,42duringJuly,80duringAugustand90duringSeptember.Sincethereisnojettyfacilitiesatthis centrethe boatsare stationedat adistanceandthebundlesofcatchesweretiedin a rope and pulled to the shorebyfishermen.Fish landingsTheestimatedlandingsofCuttlefish,Thread-finbreamsand Lizardfish duringJuly-September'89atColachelaregivenintable1.Maximumlandingsof cuttlefish,thread-fin-breamsand Lizard fish wereobserveduringSeptember1989.Theaver-agecatchpertripwas501kg duringJuly,comprisedof cuttlefish (60kg)Threadfinbreams(150kg),Lizardfish (251kg) andothervarieties(40kg).Althoughthenumberof unitsoperatingincreasedto 1920duringAugusthecatchpertripdecreasedto265kgcomprisedof 30kg of Cuttlefish,60kgofthreadfinbreams,100kglizardfishand75kgofothervarieties.ThepeaklandingswereobserveduringSeptember"Yithcatchpertripof660kgconstitutedby80kgof Cuttlefish,200kgof threadfinbreams,250kgoflizardfishand130kgofothervarieties.Theaveragenumberof actualfishingdayswere23.for July, 24 for August and 25 forSeptember.Thedailyaverageoutputatthelandingcentrewas21tonnescatchduringJuly and August and 59 tonnesduringSeptember.MarketinganddistributionpatternThe catcheswere disposedoff byauctioningandthentransportedto interiorJanuary1991marketsby headloads,cycles,temposandlorries. Theentirelandingsof cuttlefishwerepurchasedby theagentsof processingplantsfor exports. This cuttlefish wascleanedattheshoresideitselfandicedwellbeforesendingtoQuilonregionofKeralaforfurtherprocessingandexports.Withregardto Threadfinbreamsand Lizard fish thepercentagedistributiontowardsfresh,icedandcuredformsduringJuly-Septemberisgivenbelow.TheimportantlocalmarketsforfreshfishareMondayMarket,Vadaserry,Thuck-alay,FridayMarket,Thoduvettyand Ka-liakkavilai.Fishin freshformaretakentothe innumerableother retail centresofKanyakumariDistrict. The iced fish wassuppliedtodistantmarketslikeVilupuram,ThiruchiandMaduraiduringthetimesofbumperlandingsinadditiontocateringtheneedsofmarketslikeNeyyattinkara,Amar-avilai, Trivandrumand othercentresinKeralaborderand Vadakkankulam,Val-liyoor and Palayamkottaiin ThirunelvelyKattabommanDistrict..Thebulkofthecuredproductwas transportedto TuticorinforexporttoSriLankaandtherestto Madras,Villupuram,KoiIpatti,Nazarth,Melapalayam,Thenkasi,Pasumalai,Madurai,ThiruchiandArakonamin theStateitself.PricestructureandrevenueTheaveragepriceprevailedat Cola-chellandingcentreduringJuly-Sept.1989is. givenin table3.Widevariationin thepriceof cuttlefishwasnotedmainlydue to its sizeandspeciescomposition.The speciesLoligo'duvauceliiconstitutedmaximumduringJulyandSepiapharaonisduringAugustandSep-tember.HigherpricesforThreadfinbreamsandLizardfishwereobserveduringAu-gust'89 notonlyduetolesserlandingsbut25alsodue to higherdemandfrom Keralamarketsas therewas ban on monsoonmechanisedfishingthere. The pricerateslashedat thelowestforThreadfinbreamsand Lizardfish duringSeptemberdue tobumpercatchesassociatedwiththeavailabil-ity of otherbettervarietiesand fall indemandfromKeralamarkets.Eachboatrequiresabout100litresofdieseloil perdayof operation.Excludinglabourthe averageoperationalcostwasworkedoutat Rs.500pertrip. ThegrossrevenuerealizedpertripwasRs.2172inJuly,Rs.1875in AugustandRs.2685in Septem-ber.LabourcostpertripwasestimatedatRs.557,Rs.458andRs.728forJuly,AugustandSeptemberrespectively.Thenetoperatingincome(grossincome-operationalexpenses)of theboatspertripwasfoundtobeRs.1115in July, Rs.917in AugustandRs.1457inSeptember.Eachcrewof themechanisedboatsearnaboutRs.80perdayinJuly,65perday in Augustand Rs. 104per day inSeptember.Colachelisoneof themostimportantfish landingcentresof the Kanyakumaricoast.Butit isunfortunatetopotethatevenproperjettyfacilitesarenotavailableatthiscentre.Consideringtheenormouspotentialfor fisheriesdevelopmentof this region,necessarystepsmaybetakenforconstruc-tionof jettyfacilities.Thepresentsystemofauctionsalesof thelandingsprovidecom-petitivepricetothefishermenexceptduringthetimeofglutwhenthesystemdoes'tworkeffectively.Thestudyrevealsthathugelandingsof threadfinbreamsandlizardfishleadingto steepfall in priceswhichparadoxicallyresultedin lackofbuyersatlandingcentres.Lackof sufficientcuringyardsanddryingyardsatthevisinityof thelandingcentresithemainreasonforthesame.Someof the26buyerstakethesevarietiesall alongto theThirunelvelicoastfordryingpurposes.Sincethesevarietieshavegooddry fish marketduringleanseason,curinganddryingfacili-tiesshouldbedevelopedatIeastoncoopera-tivebasisin thisregionwhichwill enabletogetreasonablepriceto fishermenandpro-videsubstantialemployment.Severalstudiesconductedin thisre-gionaboutfisherieshaveindicatedenormouspotentialof cuttlefishresources.Introduc-tionof outboardmotorson thetraditionalcraftsduring the seventiesby the Indo-Blegiumprojectat muttom(nearColacheDservedto expandfishingactivitiesbeyondthetraditionalfishinggroundsandcatchingmorecuttlefishes.However,highmainte-nancecostsandlessereturnsledtheopera-tionof theseunitsuneconomicandled tofailureoftheschemeonthosedays.But,nowthereis tremendousincreasein thephaseofmotorisationoftraditionalcraftsallalongtheKanyakumaricoast. The highervalueofcuttIefishduetotheexportdemandgener-atedin recentyearsandthegeneralriseinpriceofothervarietiesoffishinthedomesticmarketledtothischange.Earlier,mostofthemechanisedunitsownedbythepeopleofthis regionused to operateoutsidethedistrictthroughoutheyear. The recentexpansionof motorisationof countrycraftsandtheconcentrationof moremechanisedboatsherein season,furtherindicatestheresourcepotentialofhighvaluedexportablevarietiesofcuttIefishandprawnsalongthiscoast.However,lackof infrasturcturefacili-tiesin thisregionresultedin thetransporta-tionof exportvarietiestofaroffprocessingplantsinvolvingadditionalcostsdeprivingof a goodnumberofemploymentopportu-nitiestothisovercrowdedbelt.Provisionofmoreberthingfacilitiesandestablishmentofprocessingandstorageplantsin thisregionwill helpto boostnotonlythemarinefishSeafoodExportJournallandignsbutalsotheemploymentopportu-nitiesin thesubsidiaryindustries.AcknowledgementsWe are thankfulto Dr. P. S. B. R.James,Director,CentralMarineFisheriesResearchInstitute,Kochi-31andICAR forgrantingstudyleaveto oneof theauthors.We are also thankfulto Shri M. AntonyJosephforcollectionandtabulationof dataandShri.R.C Shenoi,CM.FRI., Kochi,forsecretarialssistance.References1.Chacko,P. I. andS.George1958.An appraisalof theseafisheriesresourcesof KanyakumariDistrict.MadrasFisheriesMarketingReportNo. 1112. Chacko,P. I., J. B. Abraham,R. Srinivasan,N.RadhakrishnanNairandR Anantanarayanan1%7.OnthefishlandingsandfisherytrendatCapeComorin,MadrasJ. Fish3:121- 139.3. Lazarus,Sand J.J. Joel 1979.ThepelagicfisheriesresourcesofKanyakumariDistrict,TamilNadu,SouthIndia. SeaFooodExportJournal,May 1979,P 9-28.4. Pelzer,Knut M. 1971. A statisticalstudy ofmechanisationf fishingcraftsatMuttom,ReportonPhaseI. Kottarsocialservicesodety,Kanyakumaridistric~63p.p.5.Sathiadhas,R andRE. Benjamin,1990.Economicsof mechanisedfishingunitsalongTamilNaduCoast.SeaFoodExportJournalVol.XXIINo.1,January1990.P.15-30.6.Sathiadhas,R 1989.Comparativeeconomiceffidencyof sail boatsoperatingdifferentgearsin Tamil Nadu.Mar. Fish. Infor. Serv.T & E Ser.No. 97.P. 8-16.7. Sathiadhas,R. and K.K.P. Panikkar,1989.Costsandearningsof Trawlers operatingat Tuticorin FisheriesHarbour(TamilNadu). Mar.Fish.Infor.Ser.,T & E Ser.No.100.P. 1 - 8.8. Sathiadhas,R. and K.K.P. Panikkar,1989.Sodo-economicstatusoffishermenalongMadrascoast.Mar.Fish.Infor.Serv;No.96.June1989P. 1- 6.OBITURAYIt is with deepsenseof regretwe report thesad demiseof Mrs. Aleyamma Mathew,(Kunjumole)Partner of M/ s. Seastar IndustriesCochin on 9th January 1991January1991 27

A note on the operational cost and returns of seasonal 'mixture madi' operations along Kanyakumari coast

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A note on the operational cost and returns of seasonal 'mixture madi' operations along Kanyakumari coast

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