As winter season has started gripping the country, a great surge is being witnessed in the sale of fish in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The main hub of fish in the twin cities is the market at Ganj Mandi. According to the Aquaculture Fisheries Research Institute and National Agriculture Research Centre Islamabad, there are two exotic and 26 indigenous fish species in Pakistan.
The fish supply comes from water reservoirs at Mangla, Tarbela and Simli while the sea catch from Karachi include trout, rahu, mahshair, barb, silver, mushka, salmon, thailla and morakhi.
The local dam of the capital, Rawal Dam, cannot meet the demand because of which the fish supply for Rawalpindi and Islamabad also come from fish farms in Mandi Bahauddin, Alipur, Gujranwala and Azad Kashmir.
Regarding the increasing demand of fish in winter season, the traders share different views. Some are of the view that fish consumption multiplies in winter while others thinks opposite, saying the fish market gets more momentum in summer, as shortage in supply results in an increased sale.
Most of the merchants dealing in fish prefer to buy fish from Ganj Mandi whereas many deal directly with the fish farms. One of these traders, who has established his stall at H/9 Weekly Bazaar, told Pakistan Today that they got the supply from Karachi. “Most of the people in Islamabad prefer to eat fish without fishbone, which can easily be found in the sea,” said Guddu Machhli Wala.
Guddu said he had been attached with this business for last ten years but it was now on a decline. The fish business, although on the surge in the ongoing season, was still not profitable when compared with the trend found three years ago.
Guddu considered inflation as the main cause of decline in their business. He, however, added that they had nothing to do with the season as their business in weekly bazaar always remained average.
“Yes, the customers during these days are in great number but it do not impact much on our sale as we have wholesale business and it remains same for the whole year,” he said, adding that people used white meat to get rid of many of the diseases.
He said the season was of importance for those vendors who roamed in the streets to sale fish. The fried fish is also in great demand at restaurants. Hameed Akhtar, the owner of a Orient Restaurant at F/10 Markaz, said for last ten days, most of their customers visited his outlet to eat fish. “We cannot enjoy winter without fish; that’s why we are here to enjoy cold whether,” said one of the customers at the restaurant.
Health experts are of the view that studies suggest that fish is a great source of protein and it can be a cure for many diseases. They say people suffering from heart diseases, high-blood pressure and diabetes should use white meat as part of their treatment.
