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Not AvailableThe catch of prawns per hour of trawling along the Visakhapatnam coast (cph) by sona boats (43'OAL) gradually increased from 1.70 kg in 1993-'94 to 2.96 kg in 1996-'97. Prawns were landed throughout the year with the main season during July-December. The peaks in the fishery varied in different years. Metapenaeus monoceros dominated forming 23.6-30.3 % of the annual landings in different years followed by M. dobsoni (12.2-34.5 %), M. affinis (3.0-18.4 %), P. indicus (7.9-14.5 %), P. monodon (3.0-5.8 %) and P. semisulcatus (0.7-1.0 %). M. affinis and P. monodon indicated overfishing tendencies while all the other commercial species maintained the stocks in a healthy state. Since sona boat is more cost-effective than the small mechanised boats, mini trawlers and large trawlers, it has become a threat to these boats. Hence it is suggested that there should be a restriction on further increase in the number of sona boats not only at Visakhapatnam but also at Paradeep and Kakinada to save the other fleets operating for prawns.Not Availabl