St Vincent Times was told on Thursday by Winsberth Harry, president of the National Fisherfolk Co-operative, that a memo issued by the fish market management on Wednesday 28 to fish vendors and fishermen regarding a price increase for market use, will result in vendors changing the price of fish, which, in turn, could cause more fishermen to quit the industry, due to lack of sales.
The memo to fish vendors entitled “Increase in price of goods and service”, stated the following.
“Please note that there would be an increase of the price of goods and services at the Kingstown Fish Market due to an increase in the cost of the markets Electricity Bills”.
Harry stated that goods and services here mean, Ice, Landing area, water, and storage among others.
“You need the fish to be reasonable, that both the fishers and the public would consume the fish. With this new memo, we as fishermen would just be catching fish and not making anything. Where we used to pay $0.10 for a pound of fish it’s gone to $0.30 cents. We use to rent a bin for $50 it’s now $70”
While speaking with Harry, fish vendor of 22 years Lenon Gabriel told St Vincent Times the rise in prices is cruel since management raised the price earlier this year.
“We make like $2.00 for every pound of fish we sell, and for every pound, we sell we have to give them $1.15 and this is every day that we sell. Yet we have to pay for the counter, the ice and the storage and if nothing is sold we have to put them back in storage to sell the next day and the same procedure in terms of payment all over again”, Gabriel said.
The fisherman stated that they will run at a loss because $115 dollars a day for storage is crazy and this increase in prices will place pressure on consumers. Gabriel said the vendors joined the Fisherfolk cooperative before the COVID pandemic began and since then it has been an uphill battle with the management of the market.
Meanwhile, Harry echoing the sentiments of Gabriel said consumers will bear the brunt of the rising cost of fish from this coming Monday.
“Dolphin, the kingfish and the Tuna is now being sold for $10 a pound, with this new price for the vendor and fisherfolk, the price will have to increase to $12 or $15 per pound”.
Harry told St Vincent Times while the vendors would be showing solidarity with each next week by holding protests action, there is a need for the Ministry of Agriculture or the Fisheries department to come and have a discussion with the fisherfolk in order to come to an agreement on this brewing crisis.
