Fishermen hit as traders exploit heavy arrivals in city markets

The price of fish varieties has come down by about 20 per cent after the fishing ban period was over. For instance, seer fish which was sold at Rs 800 – Rs 1,000 per kilo during the ban period was being sold at Rs 600 on Sunday. Red snapper or shankara that earlier carried a price tag of Rs 300-Rs 350/kg is now selling at Rs 240, while the price of black pomfret has gone down to Rs 400-Rs 500 from Rs 600.

CS Prasanna Kumar, who came to Choolaimedu fish market on Sunday said, “Two weeks ago, the market was empty as fish prices were sky rocketing. But today, there is a substantial decrease in prices. I am standing for nearly half an hour to buy fish.”

The fishermen association claim that the increase in the number of mechanised boats has led to the decrease in the prices. “Earlier it was just 50 to 60 boats, now there are 150 boats. So the catch has gone up and the prices of fish has reduced,” said A Mahendran, deputy secretary of South Indian Fishermen WelfareAssociation.

They complained that they have invested nearly Rs 4-5 lakh for nets, fuelling of boats and other expenses, but failed to get the profit theyexpected.

Mahendran added that during the fishing ban period in Tamil Nadu, fish varieties were brought from States like Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, which were sold at relatively higher prices. “Now, even without their intervention, we are facing a loss,”he said.

The vendors in Kasimedu said that there would be adifference in prices between what they sell and the retailmarkets.

“The retailers gain their profit as they sell them at a higher price. But we can’t do that as the supply is high. We just earn meagre profit,” said Balaraman, a vendor in Kasimedu market.