All our lives we’ve been visiting the local fish market to buy fresh fish. With the pandemic coming in and lock-down being followed at many places, we are now getting used to buy fresh fish from online websites. We had a casual survey done with around 50 odd hardcore seafood lovers who moved from buying at the fish market to ordering online. Here are the top 6 differences we managed to observe between buying seafood online and at the market:

1. Exposure: The entire processing of fishing is a lengthy task. The trawlers go out to the sea and bring in fish within anywhere between 2 to 10 days. On return, the fish is offloaded from the trawlers and then goes to different markets, local and outstation, where the dealers buy them at wholesale prices. The fish vendors either take them to the fish markets or go selling door to door. Many a times the fish is exposed to the open for a long time; at times even for the whole day. This makes the fish unfresh. Ideally, if the fish is not alive, it has to be at lower/freezing temperatures until consumption which generally doesn’t happen in case of fish markets. On the other hand, online suppliers pack it in air tight containers as soon as it is offloaded from the trawlers and ice it until delivery. This ensures no exposure to warmer atmosphere at all and keeps the freshness intact.
2. Choice: Customers get to choose their fish at the fish market; they may touch, feel and check the texture and quality before buying. They don’t have that choice with online suppliers. However, it is just a matter of initial ordering when you get to know the quality that your online supplier sends.
3. Negotiation: At the fish market, customers can bargain with the vendor until they buy it at their price. They wont be able to do the same with online suppliers, however, they ought to get a lot of discounts, promo codes/coupon codes and festive offers from them all round the year, which you won’t get at the fish market. Online suppliers come up with offers and campaigns all round the year while fish vendors don’t.
4. Availability: At the fish market, customers can buy only what is available. On the other hand, when you know your online suppliers well, you may ask them for uncommon seafood like mussels, slipper lobsters, scampi, stingrays, leather jackets, Seabass, Red snappers, Amberjacks, etc and get them delivered whenever available. Like for example, the Hilsa/ Pala fish, which is one of the most expensive edible fish, is available with eggs only during July to September. The other seasons, it is available without eggs. So you can always check and pre-book with your suppliers. Also, some of the uncommon fish taste far more better than our ‘regular’ fish. We’ve always been presented and sold the seafood that is easy on the vendors pocket and commonly available. I mean how many vendors bring lobsters, mussels and large tiger prawns along?
5. Safety: The fish markets are usually crowded, slippery, stinky, hostile and unhygienic. Sometimes even a quick visit can attract a viral disease. On the other hand, online suppliers ensure that the fish reaches you at extremely hygienic conditions in food grade packaging and with very less human touch involved, enclosed right from the trawlers to your doorstep.
6. Transaction: Almost 100% of all the transactions at the fish market are in cash. On the other hand, online suppliers give you a lot of secured online payment options.

These are the primary differences between buying seafood online and at the fish markets. Many passionate seafood lovers have moved to buying fish online in the recent past. During lockdown, many fish markets are operating minimally and those who are, are not very safe. If you feel you can add something more to this blog, kindly feel free to right back to us on bombayfreshfish@gmail.com