Rameswaram fishermen return with big catch, but unhappy with low price

Rameswaram fishermen, who returned to the shore on Sunday morning, were happy about their big catch, but became upset over the low price offered by merchants and export firms.

Rameswaram fishermen, who returned to the shore on Sunday morning, were happy about their big catch, but became upset over the low price offered by merchants and export firms.

After the 61-day ban came to a close on June 15, the fishermen ventured into Palk Bay on Saturday morning. A majority of the 3,500 fishermen, who ventured into the sea in about 650 mechanised boats, returned to the shore with nearly 4 lakh kg of many varieties of fish including ‘iral’ ‘kanavai’ and ‘nandu’.

However, with the absence of any infrastructural facilities such as cold storage, the fishermen were compelled to give away the catch at the price quoted by the buyers.

On June 9, fishermen leaders from various associations in the coastal district had appealed to Collector B Vishnu Chandran to help them get a fair price for the catch. The Collector gave his assurance and talks were held with the buyers by fisheries officials.

However, according to a fishermen leader Jesu Raja, the buyers were firm on their stand, and in the absence of a minimum support price and considering the livelihood issues, the fishermen were forced to give away the catch for a song to the buyers, he claimed and appealed to the government to immediately intervene and save them.

The cost incurred by each mechanised boat owner was huge that they expected to get a good price for the catch. At least, in the coming days, the fishermen were confident that the Collector would come to their rescue.

A representative of an export fish firm here in the district said that with mismatch in the supply and demand scenario, they bought the fish at a price that suited them. In the last two months, during the ban period, the price of fish sold at high rates. With huge arrivals now, the rates were bound to fall and in the coming days it would stabilise in such a way that the price would mutually benefit both the buyer and seller.