Fish prices doubled in retail markets across the city by Monday after deepsea fishermen stayed on shore over a week on a rough weather alert from the Met office, which forecast dangerous conditions till December 9. Skippers of several mechanised fishing boats finally left pier for the deeps on Sunday morning and are expected to return with catch by the end of the week. Currently fish markets in the city are stocked with the catch brought by fibre boat fishermen who do not venture more than 4km-5km. Deepsea fishermen travel hundreds of kilometres on enginepowered fishing boats and spend at least a week in the mid-sea. South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association (SIFWA) assistant secretary A Mahendran said, “The footfall at the fish markets in Kasimedu has reduced. This is both due to the reduced catch and the ongoing Sabarimala season. Deep-sea fishermen will be back with their catch by Thursday or Friday.” Varieties such as paara (Bluefin trevally), kavala (sardines) and kelluthi (catfish) are currently at sale at Fishermen said the price of fish will stabilise by the end of the week. Fishermen in north Chennai said they have not been given wireless gadgets for communication as promised during the UPA I government. Fisherman Karuthaiya said, “We were promised wireless devices worth Rs 7,500 each, but we are yet to receive them.” Mahendran of SIFWA said fisheries officials have collected ?500 each from fishermen for the devices that were to be handed out free of cost. Mahendran added, “We have not received the engine subsidy worth about Rs 22,000 from the state government for the past seven years.”