By Abdoulie Daffeh
Fish vendors at Brikama Market have raised concerns over frequent electricity outages, saying unreliable power supplies are affecting fish preservation, reducing sales and causing financial losses.
The vendors said the situation has become particularly difficult during the rainy season, when inadequate refrigeration and limited access to ice increase the risk of fish spoilage.
Foday Manjang, a senior fish vendor, said traders were also facing difficulties securing adequate supplies of fish, noting that many Senegalese fishermen had yet to return following the Magal Touba pilgrimage.
He expressed concern that the Ministry of Fisheries and other relevant authorities had not done enough to address what he described as the basic needs of the Brikama fish market.
Manjang said providing essential facilities and services at the market should be part of the responsibility of the relevant authorities.
He, however, commended the Brikama Area Council and its Chairman, Yankuba Darboe, for their continued support to the market.
Another vendor, Sainey Jawneh, said the high cost of ice was placing additional pressure on traders already struggling to make profit.
She said a bucket of fish costs about D3,500, while the additional cost of ice further reduces their profit margins.
“Sometimes, even getting the money to buy the fish is difficult. If we make any profit, we have to use part of it to buy ice,” she said.
Jawneh said the fish-selling business had become increasingly difficult to sustain, stressing that income from the trade was used to support their families.
She noted that many women engaged in fish vending were primary providers for their households.
Jawneh also highlighted the impact of the rainy season, saying customers often stop outside the market instead of entering because of waterlogged areas around the facility.
Mariama Keita, another fish vendor, said fish spoilage was a major concern whenever traders were unable to obtain sufficient ice.
She claimed that nearly half of their fish could spoil when there was not enough ice for preservation, which she partly attributed to inadequate electricity supplies.
Keita called on the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) to help address the electricity challenges at the market.
She said the high cost of ice remained another major concern, with a bag reportedly selling for between D300 and D400.
Keita also claimed that much of the good-quality fish landed at the site was purchased by Senegalese fish sellers, leaving local vendors with limited access to some of the better catches.
The vendors have appealed to the relevant authorities to urgently address electricity, drainage and fish-preservation challenges at Brikama Market.
They said improved facilities and reliable services would help reduce losses and protect the livelihoods of hundreds of traders and their families.