A profile of mechanised fishing activities based at Cochin Fisheries Harbour, Kerala, India

Cochin Fisheries Harbour situated at Thoppumpady (Kerala, India), was commissioned in September 1978 and function under the administrative control of Cochin Port Trust. A profile of mechanised fishing activities, based at Cochin Fisheries Harbour is presented in this paper, based on investigations conducted during 1997-98. During the period of investigations, 1543 mechanised fishing vessels were registered with the Port, of which 931 (60.3%) were in active operation. Three types of vessels were operating from this harbour. These included 72.4% trawlers, 22.6% gillnetter-cum-liners and 5.0% purse seiners. Trawlers operating from the harbour ranged from 9.1 to 16.0 m L sub(OA) (89-122 hp), gillnetter-cum-liners 7.1-14.0 m L sub(OA) (