The formalin in fish issue has exposed the underbelly of an alleged fish mafia operating in the State, a revelation that has given rise to a flurry of demands from across sections of society and politicians to place a permanent ban on the import of fish. From Health Minister Vishwajit Rane to Congress politicians who have demanded that fish import should be stopped to MGP president Pandurang (Deepak) Dhavalikar who said the ban on fish import should be extended to a month, there appears to exist a near unanimous thought process in the State that the fish Goan fishermen net on a daily basis is enough for the needs of the people of the State, and the truck loads that cross the State borders daily and bring fish from other States should not be welcomed.
While the Congress stalled the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly on Thursday morning and afternoon on the issue of formalin in fish, in the evening there was a public meeting in Margao that echoed what most of the opposition MLAs were saying on banning fish import. The meeting of concerned citizens resolved to demand a ban of the import of fish and also on the export of fish harvested by Goans in Goa. Those who took part in this meeting agreed that fish should be classified under the Essential Services Management Act and export of fish should be stopped until prices and supplies stabilse in Goa, and that stern action would be needed to break the monopoly that currently exists in the fish wholesale trade.
As discussions on the alleged mafia and monopoly of trade continue, a new question has arisen and that is whether Goa needs to import fish into the State for its daily needs. There is a school of thought that believes that the amount of fish harvested by Goan fishermen would suffice to meet the State needs, as long as there is no export of the catch. Congress leader Luizinho Faleiro pointed out that the State fishermen net about 320 tonnes of fish a day, but just about 10% of this reaches the Goan market, as the bulk is exported. The Goan needs are then met by the fish that is imported from other States. That means there is an artificial scarcity being created and this has to be probed by the government.
This brings up another argument of the economics of trade and the provision of subsidies. One school of thought, and definitely not a new one, is that though the State provides a subsidy to the trawler owners, Goans are forced to eat fish that is imported into the State and priced higher, only because the fish that the local trawler owners catch is exported. The argument is that why should the Goan fishing industry be subsidised by the government if the State’s consumers of the product are not going to benefit from this? This question has been asked in the past but it has never been answered to the benefit of the fish-eating Goans. The time has now come for the government to ensure that the Goan fish markets are supplied with local catch.
Can the government act against this alleged fish mafia that is operating in the State, which is artificially creating a scarcity of fish, increasing prices and forcing Goans to eat fish imported from other States? A government that stands by Goem, Goenkar and Goenkarponn, has to rise to the occasion.
