Cephalopod fishery of Visakhapatnam - trend and present status

Abstract

Andhra Pradesh contributes nearly 8% to the total marine fish production of India. The cephalopods contribute a little over 1% to the total marine fish landings of Andhra Pradesh. In Andhra Pradesh, cephalopods are landed by large trawlers (12-14 m, 98/110 HP), known as sona boats and smaller trawlers (9.5-10 m, 68/90 HP). Total cephalopods landed during the period 2000-2010 was 23629 t and the total effort was 37399153. Cephalopod production increased from 1011 t in 2000 to over 2300 t in 2002. Thereafter there was a declining trend up to 2006. In 2006-2007, the production increased to over 2500 t. In 2008, there was a drastic decline. However, there has been an increasing trend in production in 2009-2010 (Fig. 1). Cephalopods contributed 0.53% in 2000 and 1.6% in 2010, to the total marine fish landings of Andhra Pradesh (Fig. 1). The annual average cephalopod production for the period was 2148 t, forming an average 1.04% of the total marine fish landings in Andhra Pradesh.