Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India

Economic evaluation of marine fishing operations in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal, India

Volume 65 Issue 2

S. K. Roul, S. S. Raju, S. Ghosh, Charles J. Jeeva, R. Narayanakumar and P. Pattnaik

10.6024/jmbai.2023.65.2.2396-07

Abstract

The marine fish landing in West Bengal, India during 2020 was estimated at 2.60 lakh tonnes, contributing 9.5% of the total marine fish landings in the country. The techno-economic evaluation of different fishing methods on the West Bengal coast was carried out to assess the economic efficiency. The boat and net combinations throughout the years have seen spectacular changes because of the enormous expense of fishing, the time taken for fishing and the prefunding of activities and support. Fuel accounted for the major share (56 to 66%) in operational costs of mechanized crafts. In motorized crafts, the contribution of fuel to operational costs ranged from 21.6% to 23.6%. Crew wages, which formed only 17.8 to 23.2% of the operational costs in mechanized crafts, contributed the major share (44.4% to 54.7%) in motorized crafts. In non-motorized crafts, more than 70% of the operational cost was towards crew wages. Net Profit Margin and Return on Investment were 16.2 to 22.9% and 0.5 to 1.07 for mechanized fishing operations, 21.1% to 59.3% and 0.42 to 1.85 for motorized fishing operations and 26.3% to 31% and 1.25 to 3.92 for non-motorized fishing operations, indicating motorized fishing operations to be the most economically efficient method. Capital Productivity and Input-Output Ratios were 0.65 to 0.85 and 0.47 to 0.65 for mechanized fishing operations, 0.38 to 0.70 and 0.13 to 0.23 for motorized fishing operations and 0.65 to 0.67 and close to nil for non-motorized fishing operations. The gross value added (GVA) of all fishing operations worked out to about 50 % of the gross revenue, which is a significant contribution to the economy. In fishing tasks, the expanded expense of fishing per trip, the diminished landings and the ensuing decrease in the gross returns per trip have been cited as significant requirements influencing the financial returns from various fishing methods, by the fishers.

Keywords

Costs, returns, capital productivity, labour productivity, input-output ratio, gross value added

Date : 15-11-2023