Veraval, in Gir Somnath district on the Saurashtra coast, is one of India's largest fishing harbours. It is also where we buy — at the landing centre, not through a chain of traders. That proximity is the reason we can talk about the season honestly rather than quoting a flat annual price.
Wild-caught seafood does not arrive evenly. It arrives in surges, and the price curve is the mirror image of the landing curve. Buyers who understand the shape of the year fix contracts before the squeeze; buyers who do not, buy in the squeeze.
The monsoon fishing ban
The single largest feature of the Indian fishing year is the annual monsoon ban on mechanised fishing. On the west coast it typically runs from 1 June to 31 July, roughly 61 days, to protect the main spawning period. Exact dates are notified each year by the state government and can shift — confirm the current year's notification rather than assuming.
Two practical consequences:
- May is a rush. Everyone wants material in the freezer before the ban. Both landings and prices tend to be firm.
- June and July run on stock. Nothing new is landing. Shipments in this window come from frozen inventory, and price reflects scarcity as the stock draws down.
The shape of the year
| Period | Status | What is happening | What a buyer should do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug – Sep | Fleet returns after the ban | Early landings, quality generally good, volumes building | Good window to place first orders of the new season |
| Oct – Dec | Peak season | Strongest landings across most species; cephalopods and croakers strong | The best window for volume contracts and price |
| Jan – Mar | Strong to steady | Ribbon fish, pomfret, cuttlefish and shrimp all available | Reliable supply; good for programme buyers |
| Apr – May | Tapering, then pre-ban rush | Volumes fall away; pre-ban buying pushes prices up | Fix contracts earlier; avoid spot buying in late May |
| Jun – Jul | Monsoon ban | No mechanised landings; shipments from cold store only | Ship against stock committed earlier |
By species
These are broad tendencies on the Gujarat coast, not guarantees — a season can run early or late, and any exporter who promises you a species is "always available" is either holding old stock or guessing.
- Cuttlefish and squid — generally strongest from the post-monsoon reopening through the winter. Quality and whiteness tend to be best in the peak months. See the squid vs cuttlefish guide.
- Wild shrimp (Metapenaeus, Parapenaeopsis, Solenocera) — follows the general trawl season, with the strongest counts in the peak window. Farmed vannamei is far less seasonal, which is why programme buyers often blend the two.
- Ribbon fish — a high-volume workhorse, available across most of the open season with a clear winter peak.
- Croakers — strong through the post-monsoon and winter months; the main volume line into China and Vietnam.
- Pomfret — premium and tight all year; never assume availability at a given size grade without confirming.
- Indian mackerel — seasonal surges rather than a steady flow.
- Seer fish, grouper, snapper — smaller volumes, better availability in the open season, priced on size grade.
How to use this commercially
- Contract in the peak, not the trough. October to March is where the leverage is. Fix your annual programme there.
- Build stock before the ban. If you need continuity through June and July, that inventory has to be committed in April, not requested in June.
- Blend farmed and wild. Farmed vannamei smooths the seasonality that wild species impose.
- Start the paperwork early. Facility registration, label approvals and letter-of-credit text take weeks. Doing them during the peak wastes the peak. See the documents checklist.
Ask us what is actually landing
A calendar is a planning tool, not a stock list. If you want to know what came into Veraval this week and at what grade, message +91 98989 93777 on WhatsApp and ask. That is a faster answer than any brochure.