Several fishermen organisations have been standing up for the rights of their brethren to retain control over traditional fish markets. They want the State government to take over the markets run on private lands or at least purchase the lands. Most of them are situated on private lands and the owners are asking them to vacate. We are only asking that the traditional rights of the fishermen be protected, said K. Bharathi of the South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association. Several markets, including the ones at Chintadripet, Kalmandapam, Saidapet and Zam Bazaar have been there for over a century and yet, the fishing community has no control over the lands. Even recently, there was an issue with the Chintadripet market, which is over 200 years old. Initially, the fishermen were told to move out since a new owner had bought the parcel of land. Then the owner said that he would continue to run the place as a fish market. However, the threat of eviction is always there, he said. Indian Fishermen Association’s M.D. Dayalan, although welcoming the rules and restrictions imposed on the fish merchants at the Chintadripet market by its new owner, said that the rights of the retailer sellers, who numbered more than 500 should be ensured. They depend on the sale of fish that lands in the market. They are the fish vendors, who can be heard and seen on the streets of the city in the mornings. They cannot work under the threat of their livelihood being lost because the owner decides to construct a shopping mall at the location, he said. Going back in history For a coastal city, though fish markets have always been an integral part of a fisherman’s livelihood, the oldest fish market properly established was the one in the north east of Fort St George in 1777, said historian V. Sriram. It was set up by William Webb and Veeraperumal, who was the overseer of the market, the kotwal. It was later shifted to Broadway in the 1790s. After the Fisheries Department was formed, Sir Fredric Nicolson, an ICS officer established fish markets, he said. The Bay of Bengal Programme has mapped a total of 96 fish markets in and around Chennai city of which 30 are street markets, five are wholesale markets and the rest retail markets. The city consumes around 200 tonnes of fish a day.