Tamil Nadu - Cuddalore   

Fishermen keep off the sea

CUDDALORE: Difference of opinion with traders over pricing of fish forced fishermen to keep away from the sea for the second consecutive day on Sunday.

About 500 mechanised boats remained anchored at the Cuddalore port area.

The fishermen said that a couple of days ago, when the arrivals were lean, the traders offered Rs. 1,000 for a 50-kg box. But, when the quantum of catch exceeded expectations, the traders cut their prices to Rs. 3,00-Rs. 400 a box.

The fishermen said that it would not even meet fuel expenses. When the prices nosedived, some fishermen picked up quarrels with the traders, who maintained that since the demand from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh had slackened, they could not offer high prices.

As tension prevailed at fish landing yards, police personnel were deployed to monitor the situation.

As a mark of protest against the “arbitrary price fixation” by the traders, the fishermen dumped all their catch on the shore.

They have said that they would not resume fishing till the price situation improved.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Fishermen keep off the sea

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu