Last week Salim Gool, president of the San Fernando Co-operative Society, was warning that prices on fish, already having hit an astonishing high of $60 per pound last Christmas, seemed set to reach as much as $100 per pound during Lent.Clearly fans of the food–who have taken to calling it Mr Fish during these seasonal price hikes– may soon have to address it as Sir and approach on bended knee.
What's causing these sharp rises in the prices of fish?Certainly there's some cause for concern in the complaints of shrinking fishing stocks that fishermen have advanced. Overfishing is a serious issue globally and the combined efforts of Trinidadian and Venezuelan fishing fleets have, no doubt, had a significant impact on the stock of fish available in the waters that adjoin the two land masses.
But there's also no question that there is an element of opportunism in the increased cost of fish during a season that always sees a sharp increase in consumption of it.In February 2009, fishermen at the Orange Valley Fishing Depot complained that the water taxis were cutting their nets, occasioning price hikes for fish. By the following month, fish vendors at Upper George Street in Port-of-Spain were complaining that the elements–strong winds and rough seas–were to blame for the rise in the cost of fish.
In 2011, at King's Wharf, one fisherman asserted that fish "go into hiding" at this time of year and increased detective work, incurring more fuel costs, was required.In 2012, fishermen at Otaheite had added seismic survey, shrimp trawling and pollution to the list of nemeses faced by fishermen during Lent, incurring higher acquisition costs.
Heroic fishermen, determined to meet the rising demand for fish and no doubt mindful of the difficulties faced by citizens seeking the product, were said to be facing pollution issues in the Gulf of Paria in 2013, stalling their efforts to find a supply of fish to meet this growing need.In Tobago, however, fishermen seemed to be doing quite well on seas far less plagued by the challenges facing Trinidad's fishermen, and costs for the popular foodstuff were more in line with the expectations of the season.
The Prices Council has already declared itself helpless in the case of sugar–which has been dropping in price steadily over the last two years by as much as seven per cent: a difference in price which has not been reflected on local grocery shelves.The Consumer Affairs Division, also a branch of the Ministry of Legal Affairs, has a food prices bulletin online which was last updated in April 2011, but the entire Legal Affairs Web site is reported as infected with malware.
Clearly there is more to be done to protect consumers from opportunistic price-gouging occasioned by seasonal demand. It remains unclear whether any government agency charged with such monitoring is aware of or moved to act on such incidents.That, surely, cannot be the case here.