Deployment of high-speed boats (above 180 HP) for fishing in the Bay of Bengal across Andhra Pradesh has emerged as an area of concern with the perception gaining ground that juvenile fish population is getting wiped out on account of these operations. The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology and the Fisheries Survey of India have made it clear that boats below 140 HP should only be allowed for fishing in the State, given the permissible sizes of boat for sustainable fishing without impacting the survival of the fish species. On Wednesday, the State fisheries authorities conducted a consultative meeting with all boat owners here, seeking their opinions on the operation of speed boats and its impact. National-level meet The State government was to present its view on fishing by the speed boats at a national-level meet scheduled to be held in Delhi on May 14 as a part of finalising the Marine Fisheries (Population and Management) Bill, 2019. About 250-300 high-speed boats with trawl nets are in operation in the State, despite strong opposition from the operators of 4,000 mechanised boats and nearly 12,000 traditional boat operators. Uneven contest Machilipatnam Mechanised Fishing Boat Operators Welfare Association president Moka Ravikumar said; The two-month fish catch by the bunch of speed boats equals to the annual catch by the rest of the boats in the State. Speedboats with trawling facilities are to be blamed for catching the juvenile fish, wiping out the population, he added. Realising the damage being done to the juvenile fish population, at least 56 high-speed boat operators have been persuaded to convert their boats into low-speed ones with gill net’ facility on the Kakinada coast, said Fisheries Department Additional Director Mr. Seetarama Raju. According to the mechanised boat operators, deployment of speed boats is directly affecting the livelihood of about 1.3 lakh fisher folk. The Fisheries Department will convene a consultative meeting on the deployment of the speed boats in Visakhapatnam on Thursday (May 9) and Kakinada on May 10 (Friday).