The arrival of fish to local markets, which dwindled sharply following the 60-day ban on fishing by mechanised boats, has further declined with country boat fishermen unable to venture into the sea owing to high velocity gales.
After the ban on fishing between Kanniyakumari and Chennai came into effect on April 15 last, the price of fish in all the markets in southern districts skyrocketed because of the insignificant supply of small variety fish by the country boat fishermen from Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli districts. The only solace was the small supply of premium varieties at a higher price by mechanised boats operating from Colachel and the west coast fishing harbours beyond Colachel.
Consequently, the price of the much sought-after varieties such as ‘ooli’, ‘seelaa’ and ‘vela meen’ shot up to unprecedented levels, while smaller varieties like ‘saalai’ and ‘nagarai’ too fetched a good price. The price of ‘seelaa’, which was sold at ₹600 a kg prior to the ban, rose to more than ₹900, while the price of ‘vela meen’ increased from ₹350 a kg to ₹500 a kg. Smaller varieties such as ‘saalai’ too fetched a higher price as it rose from ₹80 a kg to ₹120 a kg.
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Against this backdrop, the ban on fishing by mechanised boats in the west coast came into effect on June 1 to stop the arrival of varieties such as ‘ooli’, ‘seelaa’ and ‘vela meen’. And, seafood lovers had to be content with the supply from the country boat fishermen alone.
“Now, the situation has worsened further with gales lashing the entire Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts. Since the sea is so rough in the wake of onset of strong westerly winds and southwest monsoon in neighbouring Kerala, the country boat fishermen cannot venture into the sea. And, the catch is also less impressive with the arrival of smaller varieties,” says S.V. Antony of Uvari, the largest coastal hamlet in the district.
Of the 992 fibreglass country boats in 13 coastal hamlets in Tirunelveli district, only a few ventured into the sea on Thursday.
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“Our village has 240 country boats, but only 11 went for fishing on Thursday. Naturally, the supply cannot meet the demand. Since seafood is part of our everyday diet, it is really difficult to adjust to the smaller quantity of fish available in the market at a higher price,” said Jesu of Kooththenkuzhi, another coastal hamlet.
The fishermen say the situation will improve only after the ban expires on June 15 and the country boat fishermen venture into the sea in large numbers for the ensuing ‘shrimp season’ after mid-June.