Fish prices in Sri Lanka have risen to unprecedented levels due to a severe shortage of fish in the country’s waters despite the end of the warakan season, Peliyagoda Central Fish Market Chairman Jayasiri Wickramarachchi said.
Wickramarachchi said prices of virtually all varieties of fish, including commonly consumed varieties such as salaya and hurulla, had increased sharply due to the decline in catches.
He attributed the shortage partly to Indian fishermen using bottom-trawling methods in the Northern and Eastern seas, claiming that the practice was destroying juvenile fish. He also alleged that authorities responsible for maintaining and improving fish stocks had failed to take adequate measures.
According to Wickramarachchi, the volume of fish currently reaching the Peliyagoda Central Fish Market has declined significantly. He warned that prices could have risen to nearly double their current levels if not for catches arriving from the Southern coastal belt.
The sharp increase in prices has also discouraged retail traders from purchasing fish at the wholesale market, while even traditionally affordable varieties have become increasingly difficult for ordinary consumers to purchase, he said.
As of yesterday (21), wholesale prices at the Peliyagoda market stood at around Rs. 1,200 per kilogramme for salaya, Rs. 1,500 for hurulla, Rs. 900 for linna, Rs. 1,000 for paraw, Rs. 2,500 for thalapath, Rs. 3,000 for koppara, Rs. 2,000 for large cuttlefish and Rs. 3,300 for thora.
