Fishing folk cry for help

Fishmongers and oyster collectors in Old Jeshwang have expressed concern over the difficulties they encounter in their trade due to the lack of storage facilities.

In an interview with the Daily Observer, one of the fishmongers, Haddy Jeng, said that the major problem they face at the riverside is the lack of storage facilities. This, she said, costs them a great deal as most of their fish get spoilt as they head towards the market. She attributed the gravity of the problem to the insufficiency of ice blocks, which she said are expensive, especially during the month of Ramadan.

“We buy a bowl of fish at D400, and we end up sitting the whole day without getting anything more than the cost of the fish,” she explained.

She went on to say that the frequent theft of their properties has become another obstacle to their fledgling businesses. “There was a time,” she narrated, “when groups of men, dressed in black, chased us away and then took our fish and retreated to the mangrove.”

She claimed that they reported that case to the police who just came one night, spent nothing more than 5 minutes and left. In Haddy Jeng’s view,  the amicable resolution of their difficulties will help solve the problem of constant fish shortages in the market.
 
Marie Acosta, an oyster collector, reiterated the point raised by Haddy Jeng. She went a bit further in drawing the attention of potential Samaritans to what she said were the basic necessities of their trade: a tap, gloves, and socks. She stated that another major constraint is the lack of canoes.  She explained that most of them rent canoes from their colleagues, and that it takes three people to rent a canoe, thus putting their lives at risk as the canoes are normally so small in size that they risk their capsizing.

For her part, Anta Jarjue, another oyster collector, said that because of the lack of safe drinking water, they are forced to fetch water from their homes, which are far from the riverside.

“We cook our meals and wash our oysters with tap water so if we get a tap here it will make our work easier,’’ she concluded.