The fishing ban in Tamil Nadu's coastal districts has reduced the inflow of fish to Coimbatore's Ukkadam fish market by up to 50 per cent. With fish coming from Kerala and Karnataka, their selling price has gone up by as much as 20 per cent, traders said.
Coimbatore: A 45-day fishing ban period has been declared from April 15 to May 29 every year for fish breeding in the sea areas across Tamil Nadu.
The Government has banned the use of mechanised fishing boats from Chennai to Kanyakumari during this period, because the fish will lay eggs and hatch. The 45-day ban has been increased to 61 days since last year.
The ban period for this year ends on June 14. The inflow of fish to Tamil Nadu's fish markets has decreased drastically as a result of the fishing restriction. As a result, only fish from outside the state are being sold at present.
In this situation, the inflow of fish from the Coimbatore fish market at Ukkadam has been reduced by 50%.
As a result, their selling price has increased by up to 20%.
Speaking on the occasion, a fish vendor in Coimbatore district said:
There is a fish market in Ukkadam Lorrypettai area of Coimbatore. There are more than 50 wholesale shops here. There are more than 20 retail outlets. Around 50-60 tonnes of fish are being sold daily from Thoothukudi, Rameswaram, Nagapattinam districts, Kozhikode in Kerala and Mangalore in Karnataka. On Saturdays and Sundays, there will be an inflow of up to 300 tonnes of fish. Various types of marine fish like sankara, sardines etc. are sold here.
Fish traders from various parts of Coimbatore district, fish traders in Palladam ,Dharapuram in Tirupur district and coonoor ooty fish vendors buy fish from ukkadam fish market. Apart from this, the people of Coimbatore city go directly to the market to buy fish. At present, mechanised fishermen in Thoothukudi, Nagapattinam and Rameswaram areas are not venturing into the sea due to the fishing ban period.
Only country boats go out to sea to catch fish. As a result, the quantity of fish coming from Tamil Nadu has decreased. At the same time, fish from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka are coming for sale.
Due to the ban period, the current inflow of fish is only 30 tonnes. The arrival of fish has decreased by 50%. Simultaneously, the price has risen by 20%. Even though the inflow of fish has decreased, steps have been taken to sell quality fish to people in the fish market.
Thus, the business is as good as ever without any let-up.