Economic performance of marine fishing operations and valuation of fish landings in the Union Territory of Puducherry, south-eastern India

Abstract

The techno-economic evaluation of different fishing methods in Puducherry was carried out for assessing the economic efficiency of marine fishing operations and valuation of fish landings. The average operating cost of multi-day (4 day) trawl, single day trawl, motorised gillnetters and non-motorised gillnetters were found to be ₹4,45,442, ₹33,323, ₹5,623 and ₹2,094 respectively and the net operating income per trip was worked out as ₹2,09,738, ₹15,302, ₹ 3,172 and ₹866, respectively. The operational efficiency of the motorised craftgillnet combination was the highest with a lower operating ratio of 0.64, compared to other craft-gear combinations. The capital productivity was 0.69 for single day trawl and 0.68 for multi-day trawls in Puducherry. The labour productivity was highest at 348 kg per trip for multi-day trawls, followed by 47 kg for single day trawls. The share of Gross Value Added (GVA) was higher for single day non-motorised gillnetters operating in Puducherry (89.27%), followed by single day motorised gillnetters (84.96%), single day trawls (73.05%) and multiday trawls (68.91%). Landing Centre (LC) valuation was worked out as ₹980 crores, and the Retail Centre (RC) valuation as ₹1350 crores. The average fishers’ share in consumer rupee was found to be 68.43%. Rays had the highest marketing efficiency at 79.32%, followed by Octopus with a moderate efficiency of 73.68%, while Anchovies recorded the lowest at 63.48%. The evaluation of economic performance revealed that the labour share, escalating fuel prices and the volatile market prices of fish landings in recent years are negatively impacting the profitability. In fishing activities, the increased expenses per trip, the lower landings, and the resulting decrease in gross earnings per trip have emerged as significant limitations on the economic returns from various fishing techniques. 
Keywords: Capital productivity, Fixed costs, Gross Value Added, Input-output ratio,  Labour productivity, Operational costs