Team Herald
MARGAO: The South Goa fishermen, at a meeting held at Colva on Monday, have demanded that the Margao wholesale fish market be handed over to the Goan fishermen and the ban on import of fish be extended for the next three months.
Addressing the press after the meeting, former MLA and trawler owner Benjamin Silva said, “Hand over the wholesale fish market to fisheries department and let it be run by the fishermen. There is problem in fish trade worldwide since it not being handled by the fishermen. The middlemen play with the lives of people like we saw in Goa,” he said.
He informed that if the wholesale market is run by the Goan fishermen, it would enable them to get funds under a Central agricultural scheme for having independent cold storage for the fish.
“We had demanded the same earlier but the middlemen dominate the market. The fisheries department has to take over the wholesale fish market and transfer it over to the fishermen,” Silva said.
“It may be seen that traditional fishermen are not allowed to sell their catch at the wholesale market as the agents and their trucks occupy the entire place; the agents start bringing their stock at 2 am,” said Sydney Furtado, Chairman of Goa Fishing Boat Owners Association.
He alleged that trawler owners are not allowed to enter the market and hence the artificial scarcity inflates the fish prices, making fish unaffordable to common people.
“In the assembly assurances are given to reduce prices but nothing is done. If the fish netted by the Goans is subsidised, then, the fish will be available at a price affordable by common people,” Silva said.
