CHENNAI: On the auspicious occasion of Aadi Krithigai, the demand for varieties of fish and their prices remained high on Sunday.

As Hindus follow rituals and avoid consuming meat and fish on this special day, many people visited the Kasimedu fish market hoping to purchase fish at a lower price. It is to be noted that despite a poor fish catch and Aadi Krithigai, the prices remained higher than expected.

The fish prices at the market on Sunday are as follows: Sankara (Red Spinner) - Rs 400, Vanjaram (Seer fish) Rs 1200, Vanjaram slice (Seer fish slice) Rs 1700, White Parai (Trevally) and its varieties between Rs 400- 800, Vaval (pomfret) Rs 900, Prawn Rs 400, Tiger Prawn Rs 1000-1,100, and Nethili (anchovy) Rs 300.

Compared to last week, the prices have surged. Several people came to buy fish at a lower price, but they had no other choice but to spend a lot to buy fish, and only a few varieties of fish were available.

“Last week I bought Vanjaram (Seer fish) for Rs 1000, and prawn for Rs 300, but today the prices are relatively high, with Rs 100 to 200 for Vanjaram, Prawn, and other varieties of fish on Sunday. I expect the prices will go down in the coming weeks,” said M Tagore, a resident of Guindy.

Contradicting the comments from the consumers, S Murugan, a fibre boat owner, stated, “Usually, we get more fish after the end of the fish ban period. But this year, we didn’t get fish as expected. Only 100 fibre boards came ashore, with poor fish catch. As a result, the fish prices have surged and demand remains high.”