Living on the coast has its benefits – fresh fish! Unfortunately, when it all gets gathered in one place, the smell of fish becomes so strong that I quickly lose interest in actually eating any. But it’s good to know it’s there and suggests that what’s being sold in the shops is likely also pretty fresh.
This particular market is very small-scale, and its fish are sourced from the boats you see in the picture starting this post, which are all piled up on the beach behind the market itself. The fish are brought in and sold on sheets of plywood or tarps mainly. Mostly women work the fish stands but generally they did not want to be photographed.
One woman did let me take a picture of the fish she was selling, though she seemed to find it odd that I had an interest in doing so.
This is not an area of wealth. I posted yesterday about the homes on the beach and the destruction caused by the 2004 tsunami. These are directly landward from the market:
Finally a photo of Chennai’s lighthouse, which is just north of the fish market.
