Good post-ban shrimp catch fails to boost AP fishermen’s earnings

Visakhapatnam: The first long voyage after the annual ban by fishermen has fetched them a good harvest of brown shrimp, bringing smiles to their faces. However, the fishermen say there was a good haul of brown prawns, but the prices they fetched were not commensurate with the cost incurred by the fishermen.Some mechanised fishing boats on their first voyages of the season (lasting 10 to 12 days) returned with good catches of brown shrimp, while some trapped smaller quantities of white shrimp and tiger shrimp.Fisher folk reported hauls of 300 to 350 kg of brown shrimp and 30 to 40 kg of tiger shrimp and white shrimp per boat, and small quantities of fish. However, operators said current prices for brown shrimp remained unviable.

The price improved slightly in 2026, from 350 per kg in 2025 to 400 per kg, but most boat operators and fishermen remained dissatisfied due to higher voyage costs.Some of the boats returned with a sizable catch of shrimp, and the prices are currently fixed at Rs 450 per kg for white shrimp, Rs 400 for brown shrimp, and Rs 1,200 per kg for tiger shrimp. If we get at least Rs 450 per kg for brown shrimp, boat operators can survive, as most of the catch is brown shrimp, said Surada Satyanarayana, a mechanised fishing boat owner in VizagAndhra Pradesh has over 2,500 mechanised fishing boats spread across Vizag, Kakinada, Machilipatnam, Vadarevu, Kalingapatnam, and other coastal hubs.

For each 10 to 14-day voyage, boat owners invest Rs 5-6 lakh, mostly on diesel, groceries, ice, and other essentials.Around 60 to 70 percent of these vessels targeted shrimp during the crucial June to September period. The fisherfolk said boat owners may experience a good catch of shrimp for the next two to three voyages, and the catch will decline from September due to rough sea weather, marine pollution and a few other factors.The aqua farmers (mostly produce vannamei shrimp) in Godavari districts have declared a crop holiday due to an increase in feed prices, price fluctuations due to US tariffs and the Iran war situation. Though brown and white shrimp are tastier and richer in minerals, the export demand favours vannamei. If the vannamei shrimp production declines, the demand for the marine shrimp may increase, and mechanised boat owners may get some profits in the coming days.