Tuna season begins this year with more number of mechanized boats venturing into the sea amid the talk of implementing mother ship concept for better returns, according to The Hindu.
About 30 mechanized boats will join tuna-catching long-liners, taking the total number in the field to 100 plus. As of now about 50 trawlers have diversified into tuna long-liners after dwindling shrimp catch made their voyages unviable.
The mother ship, if deployed, will help small boats and trawlers in sending their catch fast to the shore for export. Tuna fetches more only when it is fresh and airlifted live after processing to Colombo, Hong Kong and Singapore.
“Mother boat, if introduced, will fetch more prices to traditional fishermen with the purchase of tuna caught at sea. The mother boat will help preserve and process immediately to prevent post-harvest losses and to maintain sashimi grade,” Australian Trade Commissioner and Consul-Commercial Michael Carter said in a recent visit.
The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) and Marine Product Export Development Authority (MPEDA) held a series of training programmes to educate fishermen on the demand for sashimi grade tuna. Tuna season begins in October to November.
The price for locally caught tuna fetches less than INR 100 (€1.43/$1.86) a kilogram from the middlemen who send it to Japan, Taiwan and other overseas markets. However, if the facilities are improved, it can fetch up to INR 800 (€11.5/$14.9) to INR 1,000 (€14.3/$18.6) per kilogram.