Sea fish export to China shuts down over Coronavirus scare

Kolkata: The Novel Corona Virus (nCoV) scare has made an adverse impact on the export of sea fishes to China from Digha.

The local businessmen who are involved in the export of sea fishes to China from Digha Mohana and Sankarpur areas are eyeing a huge loss as the export of fishes has stopped completely, following the corona virus threat.

The fishermen used to export catfish, octopus, ribbon fish, various types of shrimps, sole fish, black eel, yellow eel and Chinese pomfret to China. After the complete shutdown, some of the fishermen are trying to store them with a hope that they would possibly export them after the threat wanes.

A huge amount of the catch is getting destroyed as there are no buyers for such fish in Bengal. "The fishes which are exported to China are not sold in the local markets. Hence, all the fishermen involved in the business are waiting for the export to resume. The corona virus scare has taken a heavy toll on the lives of fishermen in the region," said a senior member of Digha Fishermen and Fish Traders Association.

However, not a single case of nCoV has been reported in the state so far. Those who returned to the city from China, including some foreign nationals, were admitted to the Beliaghata ID Hospital and eventually released after their swab samples tested negative.