Fish Sellers in Serrekunda Market decry diminishing fish industry

Fish Vendor busy at the Tanji Sea site

Fish sellers in the Serrekunda market which can be considered as one of the biggest market that supplied more than 200,000 inhabitants with daily fish consumptions cried low catch of fish nowadays. 

In an exclusive chat with Mansa Banko Blog, speaker after speaker lamented the high cost of fish saying that nowadays, they are not getting plenty fish from the fishermen compared to the past five years thus the price of fish is escalating daily in the market.

Mrs. Meita Bojang, narrated that she have been in the fishing industry buying and selling fish (Bonga) for the past seven (7) years, and noted that “the prices fluctuate  as sometimes it is cheap and a times its expensive.”

 “When we got it at cheap price from the fishermen, we also sell it at cheap price and if we get it at an expensive price vice versa,” she said.

When asked about her customer based, Bojang said that she already win the market as she sells fresh fish and as a result maintained many of her customers for many years.

Mrs. Ndey Nyang, also a fish seller, stated that transportation from the sea to the market is one of their main constraints in the fishing industry.

She complained about the high cost of fish, noting that some of the fishermen are bent on increasing the price of fish on the pretext of catch low fish.  

For Mrs. Maro Dampha, selling fish is a lucrative business because she earns her living from the fishing industry. According to her, she got her fish supply from the Bakau fishing centre and so far spent almost 15 years in the sector.

 “I pay my children’s school fees, buy cloths and feed the family with the money I earned from the market,” she said.

Bonga Fish

The red snappers, which she also sells is often available during the rainy season and is that time when the price of the red snappers is cheaper.

Quizzed about her pricing, Mrs Dampha said that the price of the red snappers also fluctuates, saying many a times fish baskets cost them D3, 000.00 equivalent to (US $75) and sometimes at D7, 000.00 equivalent to (US $175). 

According to her, she sometimes sell bonga fish saying that some customers buy bonga fish.  

If proper measures are not taken, according to her, fish consumption will drastically drop attributing it to low catch of fish due to illegal fishing in the Gambian seas.

She expressed delight over her sales attributing it to the good price that she gave to her customers.

Dampha finally called on the relevant authorities put a stop to the operations of large trawlers in the sea saying ‘many of the large trawlers are fishing illegally in the seas.’