This comes as the Department of Statistics reports that the shopping public paid 12.56 percent more for fresh and frozen fish in 2006 than they did in 2004.
According to Hylan Smith, a fisherman for the last 28 years, business is booming.
“As Good Friday approaches the sale of fish has really picked up,” Mr. Smith said Saturday from the Potter’s Cay Dock.
“Sales have picked up for at least the past week and a half and all of us as fishermen haven’t been able to get enough fish for the market.”
He said the most popular type of fish this year – based upon requests from his customers – have been the snapper, jack and grouper.
Albert Albury, who also sells his stock from the Potter’s Cay Dock, said he too has experienced a sharp increase in business.
He indicated that he expects sales to be even stronger over the last several days before the holiday.
George Morley, however, told a different story.
According to the fisherman, his sales have been less than impressive.
“Right now things are slow,” said Mr. Morley, who added that he has been a fisherman for 12 years.
“I hope that it will pick up. I’m not too sure, but I think it will pick up starting from Monday until Thursday maybe.”
Thomas Neely, who has practised his trade for the past 39 years, said his sales had also remained flat up to Saturday, but he was expecting business to pick up by Tuesday.
Mr. Neely also pointed out that this year many customers are purchasing smaller fish.
Expressing concern not about the level of fish sales, but conditions at the Potter’s Cay Dock, 72-year-old Archie McPhee – a fisherman for over half a century – called on government officials to more stringently regulate operations at the dock.
According to Mr. McPhee, the smaller vendors are being disadvantaged because larger suppliers are competing “unfairly”.
“With them retailing and wholesaling, we who call ourselves the middlemen, can’t make any money because the wholesalers are making it in the wholesale and the retail,” he said.
“And mind you they (aren’t) even giving you a fair shake for your money because they give us two or three fish for $10, but when you come to me I give you five for $10 and I am buying my fish from them,” Mr. McPhee added, stating that such conditions are unfair not only to the smaller fish vendors, but also to consumers.
Oral Ambrose echoed Mr. McPhee’s call and went further, calling on government to implement a system which would require wholesale and retail fish vendors to have different licences.
“No one patronises the small fisherman because the wholesale boats are wholesaling and retailing,” said Mr. Ambrose.
“We have fish stalls here, but we aren’t making money while the big boats are here because they are wholesaling and retailing. We think the government needs to do something about that so that the small businessman or entrepreneur can make some money because we are not getting a share or piece of the pie.”
By: Darrin Culmer, The Bahama Journal
