Benaulim fishermen pull a canoe ashore as curtains come down on the fishing season on May 31.
MARGAO
Traditional fishermen wound up their fishing activities with little or no catch over the last few days, with fish turning dearer and beyond the reach of the common man as prices of fish skyrocket in the fish markets.
A visit to fishing village of Benaulim revealed that traditional fishermen, including ramonkars and magkars were winding up their fishing activities. Traditional fishing boats were being pulled ashore and fishing nets transported to the residences of the fishermen.
Benaulim-based fisherman Pele Fernandes pointed out that most of the traditional fishermen have pulled their country-made fishing boats ashore with just two days to go for the 61-day fishing ban to come into force from June 1.
“It’s not only the fishing ban that has made the fishermen pull their boats and nets ashore. We have experienced fish scarcity over the last few days. Some of the country-made boats have either returned with little or no catch,” he said.
Pele explained that traditional fishing activity along the coast had helped to maintain the stability of fish prices in the markets. “When the traditional fishermen used to bring basketsful of fish catch, the fish price automatically came down in the market. In the last few days, there was poor or no catch from our side and see the price of fish in the markets. Fish is now beyond the reach of the common man,” he added.
Indeed, one can hear a common story in the market with a visit to the wholesale fish market at Margao that the price of fish has skyrocketed over the last few days. In fact, five big-sized mackerels were available at the wholesale fish market for Rs 500, indicating that a mackerel is priced Rs 100 in the wholesale fish market.
A fish vendor engaged in the retail fish sale in the wholesale fish market informed that a box of mackerel was sold in the wholesale fish market for Rs 6,000. “Yesterday, a box of mackerel was sold for a whopping Rs 7,000. These are the last days of the fishing season. Those boats which were fortunate with the mackerel catch are selling the fish at a premium. We retail vendors have no option but to sell the fish considering our margin,” a lady fish vendor informed.
She added: “Maybe we will get fresh fish from the sea in the next two days when the fishing boats are all set to return to the jetties ahead of the fishing ban. The price is not likely to come down as just a few fishing boats are expected to return to the jetties.”
Meanwhile, Benaulim witnessed a rush of fish lovers on Thursday evening as they jostled to lay their hands on fresh sea fish brought by the fishing vessels. The fish, however, was sold at a premium. But, with the fishing ban scheduled to come into force from June 1, fish lovers had no option but to buy the fish available for sale.
