Traditional fish markets are a sustainable solution to tackle climate change challenges

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

It was just after Narali Purnima, when fishing communities make offerings to the sea to mark the start of a new fishing season. Monsoons no longer fit old calendar dates, but fishermen are ready to risk the seas again, to go fishing after the enforced closed season.

The market was packed with people bargaining over an abundance of food from the sea, estuaries and lagoons of Goa.

Small flat soles were piled next to tentacled squids; long mussel shells next to small rounded clams and rock-like oysters; baskets of crabs clicking their claws; prawns of all sizes; smooth-skinned sharks, striped mackerel, giant sea perch with their distinctive lowered foreheads, kingfish already cut into neat slices, piles of small sardines and anchovies, and so much more.

Fish markets are always fascinating for this diversity, which varies with season, location and the constantly changing seas. Markets usually have only a few cuttlefish, but I remember such abundance once in Mahim’s City Light market in Mumbai, that the gutters ran black with their ink, which artists once used as the colour called sepia.

In Mumbai’s Khar market, I once saw a huge load of leather jackets, with customers looking unsurely at their blocky bodies and blunt faces. “It tastes just like chicken,” said a fisherwoman, rather desperately trying to sell this unusual catch.

The brisk trade in Mapusa market shows there are customers who still appreciate this diversity.

But as seafood consumption grows, it is increasingly seen as an inconvenience. Why can’t fish and shellfish fall into easily understood types, ideally with maximum meat and as little of those bones and shells as possible? This explains the growing importance of aquaculture, which focuses on meaty varieties