Kasimedu fish market busy again as prices of prawns and other fish jump sharply

Kasimedu fish market in Chennai, quiet for the past few months, is seeing crowds of customers again. The Puratasi fasting period, the Navaratri festival and the cyclone and heavy rain warnings that followed had left the market deserted for months and sales had fallen sharply. The situation has now changed completely.

With Sunday a holiday, people thronged Kasimedu market early in the morning to buy fresh fish. The market was quiet last Sunday, but this week it was packed. Fish prices had dropped markedly during the slump, but have now risen steeply. Prices of seerfish (vanjaram), pomfret, sole fish, barracuda (koduva), reef cod, sheela, prawns and crab have all gone up significantly.

Here is what each fish now costs. Seerfish (vanjaram), earlier Rs 800, is now Rs 1,300 a kg. Barracuda (koduva) rose from Rs 600 to Rs 800. Shankara (red snapper) went up from Rs 300 to Rs 500, and anchovies (nethili) from Rs 200 to Rs 400.

Pomfret has also gone up. Black pomfret rose from Rs 500 to Rs 900 and white pomfret from Rs 700 to Rs 1,000. Sheela went from Rs 350 to Rs 550. Crab rose from Rs 350 to Rs 600, and prawns from Rs 350 to Rs 500.

Reef cod (parai) is now Rs 600, up from Rs 400. Sole fish (nakku) also rose from Rs 400 to Rs 600. Cuttlefish (kadamba) went from Rs 300 to Rs 500, and tiger prawns from Rs 700 to Rs 1,200 a kg.

After months of sluggishness, the market has by and large got back on track. The big crowd of customers on the holiday Sunday has brought life back to it.

Kasimedu fish market is also known as Royapuram Fishing Port. It is Chennai's best-known seafood market and one of the largest in South India. Located on the Bay of Bengal coast, it is known for its unmatched freshness, large-scale trade and lively coastal culture.