Scarcity of fish not cause of hike in price

PRESIDENT of the All Tobago Fisherfolk Association (ATFA) Emile Louis said the increase in the price of fish was not heavily influenced by the current scarcity, since it was going to be hiked anyway. Louis, owner of Tobago Sea Products — a fish processing and exporting business — said the price hike was compulsory after similar  increases in the price of fuel, packaging and “everything else you could think about.” He has, however, expressed bewilderment at the “drought” currently plaguing the local fishing industry. “This is the worst I have seen since I have been in the business and I have been in this over 20 years.

I don’t even have a spare case of flying fish to give to anybody, they have all been spoken for. Right now the demand is running way ahead of supply,” Louis said. He added that the fishing fraternity was hoping that the “bounty from the sea” would come soon, because a prolonged scarcity of fish would exacerbate an already hard time for fishermen who have financial obligations just like others. The ATFA president, who is currently attending a seminar in Port-of-Spain along with officials of the THA Fisheries Department — Dr Arthur Potts and Errol Caesar — said he hoped to discuss the possibility of the department financing scientific investigations into the scarcity.

Meanwhile, there have been varied responses by some local fishing vendors, several denying that their prices had risen. They claimed it appeared as though vendors who purchased fish wholesale from fishermen on the eastern side of the island had raised their prices while those who purchased from fishermen at Pigeon Point and Mt Irvine, were keeping their prices stable. They have, however, reported that retail customers purchasing directly from the fishermen were charged market prices. Several of those who had actually increased their prices told Newsday this was a part of the “Lenten tradition” and was not unusual.