Prices soar as fishing ban comes into effect

With the ban on fishing coming into effect, prices of fish have shot up, forcing consumers to shell out more money or cut down on the quantity of purchase.

On Sunday at the Kasimedu fishing harbour, vanjaram (seer) sold at ₹850 a kg, vavval (pomfret) at ₹550 and paarai (Malabar trevally) at ₹400. The prices had gone up by at least ₹100 - 150 a kg.

M. Subramani, a trader at Kasimedu, said even the mixed small-sized fish that is used in making meen kuzhambu (fish gravy) had gone up. “Since mechanised boats will remain on the shore and only smaller country craft are allowed to fish, the quantum of fish that is caught has come down. For the past one year, fishing activities have been affected due to various factors including the oil spill off the Chennai coast,” he added.

Fish from Kerala that usually comes to markets in Chintadripet and other places too were priced on the higher side. A box of 30 kg fish that usually is sold for ₹1,500 - ₹2,000, cost ₹3,000.

M.K. Chandrasekar, a body builder and a regular of consumer of fish and eggs, said the price rise would be hard on people like him. “It is a requirement for us to eat eggs and fish. We avoid other meat,” he said.

In the wholesale market, egg prices too have been going up for the past 10 days. Ashok Kishan of the National Egg Coodination Committee, Chennai Zone, said that the prices were stabilising.

“Since it is summer, production has come down and so has demand. On Sunday, the wholesale price was ₹3.65 per egg and the retail rate ₹4 per egg. Even if prices go down below ₹3.25 an egg, the minimum retail price always remains at ₹4 an egg. We are waiting to see how summer pans out this year. If it rains, production and sales will go up,” he said.