(MENAFN- The Peninsula) People are complaining about inadequate refrigeration facilities for fresh fish being sold on the Corniche and saying they have been sold stale fish as fresh on many occasions.
Vendors are keeping fish in big ice buckets and very often open them to display the species. Ice put in buckets is not a proper preservation method and when vendors open them, a bad odour comes from the fish that have gone bad, said Ibrahim Abdullah Al Mullah, a Qatari, who sometimes buys fish there.
He said though many citizens prefer to buy fish directly coming from the sea to those sold in supermarkets and traditional markets, there is a need to for modern refrigeration facilities to keep the catch fresh.
Another concern of the buyers on the Corniche is the absence of a shelter that could protect vendors and their fish from the direct sun light.
"During hot summer days, the ice will melt in a few minutes but the vendors will continue to sell fish for hours," said Al Mullah.
He urged authorities to also build a proper market on the Corniche like those in Al Wakra and other places where fresh fish directly from the sea is sold.
He said another option is to at least provide vendors with big umbrellas and not let them sell fish in the open, especially as summer is approaching.
Hamad Al Muhairi, another Qatari, said a proper market will help preserve fish, make the Corniche more beautiful and increase the number of visitors.
Ibrahim Hassan, a vendor, said most of fish they sell is fresh from the sea and they sell it before it goes bad.
"There are two main supplies. The first in the morning from fishermen who stay in the sea at night. In the evening, we get another supply from fishermen who go to the sea during the day," he said.
"We sell the morning stock in the morning and the evening stock in the evening, we don't keep any fish for the next day, and we sell all fish on the day it arrive." He did not explain what they do with the stocks left daily.
One customer on the Corniche said it is common to buy fish that is not fresh, even on the Corniche.
"The problem is that they mix old fish that have stayed for days with the fresh stock that has just arrived from the sea and sometimes will show you fresh fish and pack old fish for you."
According to the customer who preferred anonymity, one of the main reasons of buying fish on the Corniche is the possibility of getting fish at a good price compared to other markets.
But Al Muhairi said there is a possibility that vendors on the Corniche sell their stocks on the same day as the supply is less than demand.
He said the rule that requires every big boat going to the sea to have a Qatari on board is hampering supplies to the local markets as sometimes fewer Qataris are willing to go to the sea.
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