There was a smile on everyone’s face at Kasimedu fishing harbour on Sunday as several baskets of fish were unloaded from boats.
Boats that left the shores on Wednesday night, after the 61-day fishing ban ended, returned early Sunday so that city residents would have their favourite bite of seafood for lunch this season.
R. Anandan, who loves seafood, said the sight of fish in baskets, the boats and the sea makes him happy. “At Kasimedu, they have a huge variety and the fish is fresh and priced less than other local markets. However, fish like Vanjaram and Vavval were too costly,” he said.
M.E. Ragupathi, fishermen leader, said the catch was not much and only day-fishing boats had returned. “The waters are not murky in the day time, which therefore forced fishermen to catch fish at night. We will have to wait for a couple of weeks for fish, including Vanjaram and Vavval, to be caught and brought back. The gill boats too are yet to return,” he said.
Arasu of the mechanised boats association said since there were not many varieties available on Sunday, the rates were not very high. “Everyone had the same velloodaan, thoomili, sankara and nethili fish, which meant we could not demand much. Even export quality fish like pei kadama was priced ₹100 less than that in Cuddalore,” he said.
Around 600 mechanised boats left the harbour on Wednesday after waiting for 61 days. Kasimedu has around 1000 mechanised boats.
