Today's catch from Thengaithittu, cleaned the way you asked
Vanjaram, sankara, paarai, prawns, crab and squid bought off the day boats at Puducherry's fishing harbour, formalin-tested at the packing table and delivered in your morning window.
In short
PondeFresh buys at Thengaithittu fishing harbour and from Veerampattinam, and publishes the rate every morning — seer/vanjaram at ₹980/kg against ₹1,350/kg equivalent from the national online sellers. The seafood cutoff is 6 pm, two hours earlier than groceries, because the boats decide what we can honestly promise.
Reviewed 20 September 2026 · rates are rewritten every morning after the landing; the species list changes with the season and the trawl ban
Today's fish rates in Puducherry
Whole-fish weight before cleaning, which is how the harbour sells and how you should compare. The right-hand column is the published price of the national online fish sellers who ship into Puducherry from central hubs, converted to a per-kilo figure.
| Species | Tamil | Unit | PondeFresh | National online seller |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seer fish 2–5 kg pieces | வஞ்சரம் | kg | ₹980 | ₹1,350 (₹675/500 g) |
| Pink perch / sankara | சங்கரா | kg | ₹340 | not stocked locally |
| Trevally / paarai | பாரை | kg | ₹420 | not stocked locally |
| Prawns, medium | இறால் | kg | ₹620 | ₹700+ |
| Prawns, tiger | இறால் | kg | ₹920 | ₹1,000+ |
| Mud crab | நண்டு | kg | ₹760 | not stocked locally |
| Squid | கணவாய் | kg | ₹420 | not stocked locally |
| Sardine | மத்தி | kg | ₹180 | not stocked locally |
| Mackerel | கானாங்கெளுத்தி | kg | ₹260 | not stocked locally |
| Rohu (freshwater) | ரோகு | kg | ₹280 | ₹250 (₹125/500 g) |
Where the fish comes from, and what "day boat" actually means
Puducherry has about 45 km of coastline and more than 25 sea fishing settlements along it. The landing that matters for a delivery order is Thengaithittu fishing harbour, at Puducherry 605004, with Veerampattinam village just south of it. That is where our buyer stands at 6 am, roughly when the night's boats come in.
The phrase "day boat" is doing real work here and it is worth being precise. The small fibre and country boats go out in the evening or the small hours and are back at the landing the same morning, so the fish on the ice has been out of the water for a handful of hours. A mechanised trawler may be at sea for several days, icing its catch as it goes. Both are legitimate fish; they are not the same product, and the difference is visible in the gill colour and the firmness of the flesh before it is ever visible on a plate.
We buy the day-boat landing where it exists and say so on the invoice. When a species is only available off the trawler ice that morning — which happens most weeks for larger seer — the invoice says trawler, not day boat. The alternative would be to write "fresh" on everything, which is what most of this market does and which is why nobody believes the word any more.
Formalin, ice and the two hours that matter
What we do at the packing table
- Every consignment is checked for formalin with a field test strip before it is cut, and the batch result goes on the day's log
- Fish moves from the landing to the packing table in an insulated box with flake ice, not in the open
- Cleaning, gutting, scaling and cutting are done to your instruction at the table, not in advance
- Packed in food-grade bags inside an ice sleeve, and it is the last thing loaded before the van leaves
- Any piece that fails the smell or firmness check at the table is rejected and never reaches a route
What you should do at your end
- Take it out of the ice sleeve and into the freezer or the coldest part of the fridge within an hour of delivery
- Cook whole fish the same day; fillets and steaks the same day is better still
- If you are going to freeze it, do it immediately — not after it has sat on the counter through breakfast
- Prawns deteriorate faster than any finfish on this list; they are a same-day item
- If something smells wrong when you open it, message us and it is credited, no photograph required
Cuts, and which fish is right for which Puducherry dish
Cleaning is included and specified when you order, which takes about six words on WhatsApp: species, weight, and one of whole cleaned, steaks, fillet, boneless or curry cut. A note on what suits what:
- Vanjaram (seer) — the fish people plan a meal around. Steaks for frying, thick cut. The 2 to 5 kg pieces cut cleanly; anything under 1.5 kg is not worth the price per kilo.
- Sankara (pink perch) — the everyday fry fish, whole cleaned with the head on. At ₹340 a kilo it is the best value finfish on the list for a family of four.
- Paarai (trevally) — firm enough for a dry roast or a thick curry. Ask for a curry cut rather than steaks; it holds together better.
- Mathi (sardine) and kanangeluthi (mackerel) — the oily fish of this coast, at their best from October through March. Under ₹300 a kilo, cheap, and the single most nutritious thing on the van.
- Prawns — deveining is included on request. Medium for a thoran or a fry, tiger for anything where the prawn is the point.
- Nandu (mud crab) — sold live-weight, cleaned and cracked on request. Order it the day you intend to cook it, never for a day later.
- Kanava (squid) — cleaned with the pen and ink sac removed and the body ringed, unless you say otherwise.
Why the seafood cutoff is 6 pm and not 8 pm
Groceries close at 8 pm because a farm gate is predictable: what was on the vine yesterday will be on the vine at 5 am. A landing is not. If we take a seer order at 7.45 pm and no seer comes in on the 6 am boats, we have promised you something the sea did not provide. Closing seafood at 6 pm gives us the evening to confirm what the boats expect to land and to come back to you before you have planned a meal around it. It is a worse cutoff for you and a more honest one, and it is the reason we can publish a rate every morning at all.
The trawl ban, the monsoon, and when not to buy fish here
Two windows in the year change what is worth ordering, and no seller in this market tells you about either.
The first is the annual ban on mechanised trawling on the east coast, which runs for around 61 days from the middle of April to the middle of June. During it, the landing is entirely small-boat and the mix shifts hard towards sardine, mackerel and small local species. Large seer becomes scarce and expensive, and anyone selling you cheap seer in May is selling you something that was frozen in March. Confirm the exact dates for the year with the Fisheries Department; they are set annually.
The second is rough weather. Between roughly October and December the northeast monsoon puts days together where the small boats simply do not go out. On those mornings we do not have a catch to sell and the honest thing is to say so on WhatsApp by 7 am rather than substitute something from an ice box. Customers on a standing seafood line get a message and a credit, not a surprise species.
The best fish months on this coast are October through March, which is also, conveniently, when Puducherry is full of visitors and every guest house kitchen wants a seafood supplier.
Questions we answer daily
What time do I need to order fish for tomorrow?
By 6 pm the evening before, two hours earlier than the 8 pm grocery cutoff. That gives us the evening to confirm with the boats what is likely to land at 6 am, so you get a message tonight if your species is doubtful rather than a substitution tomorrow.
Is your fish formalin free?
Every consignment is tested with a field strip at the packing table before cutting and the batch result is logged for that day. We buy from the landing at 6 am rather than through a wholesale chain, which is where preservatives usually get added, and any piece that fails the smell or firmness check is rejected outright.
How much is seer fish per kg in Pondicherry?
₹980 a kilo on today's list for 2 to 5 kg pieces, at whole pre-cleaning weight. The national online fish sellers that ship into Puducherry publish ₹675 per 500 g for the same grade, which is ₹1,350 a kilo. Our gap comes from buying at Thengaithittu instead of running a central cold chain.
Do you deliver fish in 30 minutes?
No. Other Puducherry sellers promise 30 minutes; we deliver in your zone's 7–10 am or 8–11 am window on route days. Fish bought at 6 am and delivered at 8 am has been out of the water a few hours. Fish delivered in 30 minutes at 8 pm has been sitting somewhere all day, and nobody says where.
Is cleaning and cutting included?
Yes, at no extra charge, done at the packing table to your instruction — whole cleaned, steaks, fillet, boneless, curry cut, prawns deveined, squid ringed, crab cracked. The invoice shows the pre-cleaning weight, because that is how the harbour sells and how any comparison has to be made.
Do you supply fish to restaurants and guest houses?
Yes, on a standing order from ₹1,500 a week with a GST invoice on every delivery and 15-day credit after four settled weeks. Kitchens get the first drop of the morning, usually between 7 and 8 am, and a species-availability message the previous evening so the menu can be written before the chef arrives.
Which fish is cheapest in Puducherry right now?
Sardine at ₹180 and mackerel at ₹260 a kilo. Both are small-boat fish, both peak from October through March, and both are considerably better eating than their price suggests. Sankara at ₹340 is the best-value fish for a family fry.
What happens during the fishing ban?
The mechanised trawl ban runs roughly mid-April to mid-June on this coast, about 61 days, with the exact dates set each year. The landing becomes small-boat only, the mix shifts to sardine, mackerel and small local species, and large seer gets scarce and expensive. We narrow the species list rather than sell frozen stock as fresh.
Do you deliver fish to Auroville?
Yes, on the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday bioregion run in the 7–10 am window, which is one of the few ways to get harbour fish to Kuilapalayam or Kottakuppam without driving into town. Vegetarian households on that route often order for guests only; there is no minimum on the fish line beyond the ₹300 household minimum overall.
Related pages
- Thavalakuppam delivery Closest zone to the Thengaithittu harbour
- Today's prices Fish rates sit alongside the vegetable table
- Seasonal calendar The fishing calendar and the trawl ban
- Delivery areas Your route day and the 6 pm seafood cutoff
- Supply for kitchens Standing seafood lines with GST invoicing
- Fresh vegetables The same van, the same morning
- Apps compared Where the national fish sellers genuinely win
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