VASCO
Mormugao Municipal Council has issued notices to several fish wholesalers operating at Kharewado to stop carrying out sale of fish but the fish wholesalers have hit back saying that they have been selling fish caught by their own canoes and that they should not be deprived of their livelihood to please the vendors of the Vasco fish market.
Speaking to reporters, a fish wholesaler Milagres D'Souza said that they had been selling fish for many years.
"We have our own boats and our first boat was built in 1970s and we used to unload fish here and sell it directly and there was neither a jetty nor the fish market but now the MMC is asking us to stop sale of fish. We have around 8 canoes which come with fresh fish, so where should we sell our fish? Secondly we are traditional Goan fishermen and not migrants and why should MMC stop Goans from selling fish or is it to benfit the migrants?" D'Souza queried.
Another wholesaler Paxiao Monteiro said that he will not stop his business and also said that the actual fish vendors of the Vasco fish market had already moved to London while some migrants had taken their space at the Vasco fish market.
"We have our own canoes and we get fresh fish in tonnes and what should we do with the fish. The market vendors don't take our stock nor allow us to sell there and my brother is also a fishing agent. We sometimes sell fish to hotels and even send to Margao wholesale market while some close friends take some fish here as well. Today the market is full of people from Karnataka and why should they make noise when they will get a new market premises soon?" asked Monteiro.
Another wholesaler Rupesh Naik said that the market vendors must start selling fish in kilos and compete with the wholesalers in a fair manner instead of trying to take away their livelihood
"We sell fish after buying from a boat owner and the market vendors do the same and what is the difference? While we sell in wholesale, they sell in retail and our prices are way cheaper and this gives people also a huge relief on fish prices. Let the vasco market fish vendors sell in kilos and at a cheaper price so that people get good fish at cheaper prices. People don't go the market because it is dirty and the prices are higher and that is not our fault. We are not engaged in any illegal trade and we are working hard to sell fish and take care of our families. We are not against market vendors but MMC must realize that we not only take care of our families but also of those people who are working with us," said Naik.
