Black Pomfret Sales Take a Hit Because of Spill

Chennai: From the coastline along neighbouring States, Chennai gets the bulk of its seafood supply. Oil spill affecting the quality of marine life sent sales of fish plummeting. Prices of fishes like pomfret, seer, Ayilai, Sankara etc. had dropped because of oil spill.

According to Chintadripet's wholesalers, only 5-10 % of the city’s consumption contributes by the fish catch from Kasimedu. Following the news of oil spill polluting the coastline, customers are hesitant to buy fish and with this the fish sales has dropped by nearly 50%.

Fish wholesalers said that it is difficult to find fish near the coast as they have gone deeper into sea after the oil spill. Near Kasimedu they only get small fished such as Ayilai (mackerel) and Sankara (red snapper). Prices of some fishes like seer and black pomfret had dropped by half in Chintadripet because customers were hesitant to buy fish. From other places, Chennai gets nearly 130 tonnes of fish daily and from this nearly 25 tonnes are brought to Chintadripet fish market for sale.

In search of dissolved oxygen to survive, the fishes would have gone deeper into sea, Environmentalists noted.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/