Owing to the poor response received for tuna from the markets in Kerala, some fishermen have started to avoid catching this fish. Due to lack of interest among Goan consumers, this fish species is usually exported to Kerala. This is the season for tuna catch, but since Goans don’t consume it much, we sell it through agents to Kerala. The rates of tuna have fallen drastically over the past few days as a result of which, we are not even able to cover the fuel cost of the vessels, general secretary of the All Goa Purse Seine Boat Owners’ Association, Sebastiao Cardozo, said. The fish which would otherwise be sold to the Kerala market at Rs 100 per kg is now going at Rs 40. Moreover, with some of the fish markets closed in Kerala because of the pandemic, some agents are hesitant to accept large quantities of tunato be sold in the southern state, he said. Each of our agents has 10 to 12 vehicles of fish stranded in Kerala. We are therefore forced to bring down the price and sell it for Rs 40 per kg. To avoid further loss, we have decided not to catch tuna as of now, Cardozo added. Some fishermen, however, said that they may continue to catch the fish irrespective of the challenges. The rates have lowered but that will not deter fishermen from netting the fish. We are handing the catch directly to the agents, president of Cutbona Boat Owners Association, Savio D’Silva, said.