Technological Advances and Impacts on Profitability and Input Use Efficiency in Marine Fishing: A Comparative Analysis of Indigenous Vs High Speed Trawlers in Kerala State

The mechanized trawlers are the prominent fishing units in the marine fishing sector of Kerala state which contribute nearly 40% of the annual landings. The trawl fishing sector of the state witnessed several structural changes with introduction of multiday fishing and increase in capacities of engine and gears. The introduction of high speed engines in the mechanized trawl fishing sector of Kerala in 2007, replacing the indigenous engines was a major technological change occurred in the past decade. The high speed engines had a towing speed of 2.5-4.5 nm/hour. The increased fishing power of mechanized trawlers will have implications on the sustainable harvest of the resource as well as fisheries economy. The paper presents a comparative analysis of the economic efficiency of trawlers with high speed engine and indigenous engines based on data collected from the multiday trawlers operating in Ernakulam district, Kerala. The results indicated that the trawlers with high speed engines generated higher catch and return for the fishers compared to indigenous trawlers. However, the lower operational efficiency in terms of low capital productivity and fuel efficiency underscores the need for shifting to fuel efficient fishing techniques