Fishing ban triggers sharp rise in fish and prawn prices across Andhra Pradesh

VISAKHAPATNAM: Freshwater fish and prawn and some varieties of seafood prices have surged significantly in parts of Andhra Pradesh following the implementation of a two-month fishing ban aimed to protect breeding marine life. The annual ban, enforced from April 15 to June, has led to price increases ranging from 30 to 40 per cent across various fish varieties.Popular freshwater fish like Rohu (Sheelavathi), Carp (Bangarupapa) and Katla (Bocha), which typically sells for Rs160 per kilogram, are now being sold for Rs200 to Rs300 per kg depending on the size of the fish, while freshwater prawn (Vannamei Shrimp) has jumped from Rs300 to Rs400 per kilogram.The prices of the most popular varieties of sweet water fish such as Koramenu (Red Snapper) and Matta Gidasa have touched an all-time high in the markets with Rs700 a kg and Rs400 a kg respectively, the price of the two varieties were Rs600 and Rs300 a kg around a week ago.“The price rise of fresh and mud water fish was expected due to non-availability of the popular varieties of sea fish on account of annual fishing ban in the summer,” said Aruna, a fish vendor at Madhurawada in Vizag city. “High demand coupled with very limited supply of sea fish has pushed prices upwards,” she added.Major fishing harbours (Vizag, Kakinada, and few others) and landing centres in the state wear a deserted look as fishing activities have come to a halt. The popular varieties of sea food such as Silver Pomfret, locally known as Chanduva, Vanjaram and Konam (small and big seer) and some varieties of prawn were almost non-available in the open markets due to fishing ban in the east coast.In hotels and restaurants, the price of some sea food delicacies went up due to shortage of stock in the market. In some hotels, the management has stopped serving sea food delicacies and offering only freshwater fish and prawn dishes.The availability of popular sea fish is very low and the prices of the Vanjaram (seer fish) jumped to Rs600 to Rs800 a kg in the retail markets.Several fish varieties- particularly Koramenu fish and mud crabs (Rs800 to Rs1,000 per kg) become luxury items beyond the reach of common people during the summer, we have cut down the consumption by 20 to 30 per cent, V Ganesh, a private employee from Vizag city.The fish and prawn traders opined the prices of fresh water fish and prawn will increase in the coming days as the availability of the varieties is slowly decreasing following the rising temperature leading to death of the spices.