Though the ban on mechanised fishing came into effect on June 1, a visit to the Panaji fish market revealed that plenty of fish was up for sale but at very high prices. Fish sellers as well as customers told The Navhind Times’ that there has been 30 to 40 per cent increase in the prices of fish. This has been a usual situation during the fishing ban period. The fish vendors said that there has been no dearth in the flow of good fish nor there has been any decrease in the number of consumers. Fish is a staple food for a large number of Goans. People rush to market to lay their hand on good fish and don’t mind paying a little higher price, a fish seller said. The fish vendors also said that good fish are brought into Goa from different states Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The fish is first brought to the wholesale market in Margao and then distributed elsewhere. On Wednesday morning, shevtte’ (mullets), seed fish and fresh silver belly or vellio’ were sold for Rs 400 a kg, while kingfish was sold between Rs 600 and 800. A medium-sized white snipper or sea perch (chonak) and red snipper (tamoso) were sold for Rs 1,500. The price of catfish (sangott), long-fin cavalla (konkar) was Rs 600 a kg, while the price of prawns ranged from Rs 350 to Rs 800 a kg. The price of king prawns was Rs 1,000 a kg. The price of mackerels (bangddo) was Rs 200 for six medium-sized pieces and 10 small-sized mackerels were available also for Rs 200. Small pomfrets (white) were being sold for Rs 500 a plate and Rs 600-700 a kg. The price of sardines (tarle) was Rs 200 a kg while soles (lepo) were sold for Rs 300 a kg.