The fishing industry in the city plunged into uncertainty with talks between boat owners and workers on the issue of share in revenue breaking down. Boat owners say they are sustaining losses for the past three years, and say they cannot continue the status quo of allowing workers to have a share in the sales of all varieties of fish. The workers boat drivers and kalasis’ are sticking to their guns, demanding that they be paid a share in the sales of all varieties of fish apart from a 10% share in the total catch value. The ban on fishing activities ended on June 14, but fishing did not resume as boat owners refused to operate demanding a subsidy on diesel. That demand was conceded to by the government and it was decided to resume fishing activities from June 27, but the latest impasse between workers and owners has pushed the fishing sector into fresh turmoil. It may be recalled that the around 1,500 mechanised boats across the state including in Nizampatnam, Machilipatnam, Bhairavapalem, Kakinada, Vizag and other areas are confined to their harbours even after the 61-day ban from April 14 to June 14 ended. The boat operators proposed workers to forego their demand for a share in all varieties of fish, or settle for a 50-50 sharing basis on total catch. Right now, the workers get 10% share on total catch and 80% share on sale of dry fish (which cannot be kept in cold storage and is dried on deck). However, the workers are learnt to be steadfast in their demand for share on sales of all varieties of fish. The fishing harbour in Vizag has over 5,000 workers including drivers and kalasis. Around 25,000 families are directly and indirectly dependent on the fishing sector. If fishing does not resume, then these families would suffer, boat owners said. Since we are not in a position to run the boats, we have proposed to the workers to not demand share on some varieties of fish. Either that, or they settle for a 50-50 share on total catch after removing the ice charges, fuel and logistics cost, said Dolphin Boat Operators president Ch Satyanarayana.