Fish prices at a low in Kerala as catch is plenty this season
Abundant catch of fish in recent weeks has led to a free fall in the prices of popular varieties like Indian sardine and mackerel in the Kerala market. Fishing season is now active in the state as monsoon is over and the coastal sea is rather calm. The catch of major shallow water items like sardine and mackerel is currently at its peak.
The price of the most popular item in the local markets, Indian sardine, has dropped even to Rs 10 a kg from Rs 40-50 four weeks ago. Sardine (large) now costs Rs 20-30 a kg, and is available in plenty compared to a situation where its price had even increased to Rs 60 a kg a few months ago.
A sea change was seen in the case of mackerel too, as the price of large-sized mackerel has dropped to Rs 50 a kg, which was Rs 120 weeks back. Small sized ones are available for Rs 30 in major fishing harbours across the state. Along the coastal belt of Kerala, sardine and mackerel are now available in plenty which caused the sharp fall in prices.
Mechanised fishing boats and country boats are now very actively engaged in fishing as the climate is ideal for racing out to the sea. In Kerala, the main fishing season is September-December period and export business is also at its peak during this time.
The price of Japanese red fin bream, an ideal variety for making Zuru-mi, has increased now as the catch is not so big com-pared to sardine and mac-kerel. The price has now swollen to Rs 30 a kg in the wholesale trading from Rs 15 six to eight weeks back. This item sees good demand in the overseas markets. The Lizard fish, another variety good for making Zurumi, is abundant now. The per kg price of this item has dropped to Rs 20-30.
Mechanised boats from other states like Tamil Nadu are active along the Kerala coast as this part is currently the centre of fishing. There are a lot of issues as a section of the boats are using pelagic fishing nets which are banned in Kerala. These types of nets destroy not only big fishes but even the infants and eggs, that ultimately affects the marine ecosystem badly. Another item now cheaply available in the Kerala market is the seer fish. Big catch in recent weeks has dropped the price of seer fish to Rs 100-150 a kg. The normal price tag of this item is Rs 300/kg.
According to KP Jaison, manager, Samudra Fisheries, the price had even decreased to Rs 100 a kg in the last one week. This item, very popular in hotels and restaurants, is now available in big quantities especially in the southern parts of the state. The price of pig-face bream also dropped heavily in this season. This now costs Rs 60-100 per kg, compared to Rs 120 a few weeks back.
The price of the best quality ribbon fish (each weighing 300 gm plus) increased to Rs 90-100 a kg in the wholesale trade while lower weight items of ribbon fish (200 gm each) is available at a price tag of Rs 30-35 a kg.
The abundant catch of sardine and mackerel also caused a drop in the demand of fresh water fish items. Pearl spot, a very popular fresh water item, is available in the coastal areas at Rs 260 -340 a kg. The price of pearl spot during the Onam season was above Rs 400/kg. But the drop in supply caused a rise in the price of prawns in these days. The price of tiger prawns increased to Rs 300 which was in a range of Rs 230-250 earlier. Even very small variety of prawn is now available at a price tag of Rs 100 a kg compared to Rs 60 some weeks ago.