Essential Infrastructure for Modern Fish Marketing

Fish is one of the most perishable food commodities in the world. Without the right infrastructure in place, a fresh catch can go from market-ready to unsellable in just a matter of hours. Yet across many developing regions, fish landing centres and wholesale markets still operate without adequate facilities for handling, storage, or basic sanitation. The result is staggering post-harvest loss, reduced income for fishers, and unsafe products reaching consumers. Building the right infrastructure is not an optional upgrade – it is the foundation of a functional, efficient, and hygienic fish marketing system.

Why infrastructure is central to fish marketing 🔗

Unlike grains or pulses, fish begins to deteriorate the moment it is caught. Microbial activity, enzyme action, and oxidation all accelerate at room temperature, making every hour between catch and sale critical. Globally, an estimated 35% of total fish harvest is lost or wasted each year, with inadequate cold storage, poor transportation, and weak market facilities cited among the primary causes. Infrastructure directly determines how much of that loss can be prevented.

A well-planned fish market is not simply a place to sell fish. It is an integrated system of physical structures, utilities, and services that work together to keep fish safe, marketable, and accessible from the point of landing to the final buyer. Each component of this system – from site layout to cold rooms – plays a defined role.

Market site selection and layout planning 🔗

The first step in building effective fish marketing infrastructure is choosing the right site and designing a sensible layout. Careful consideration must be given at the planning stage to building access and parking, particularly for fish markets, where vehicles need to move in and out efficiently to load and unload catches. A poorly located or poorly designed market creates bottlenecks that slow down the entire supply chain and increase spoilage risk.

According to FAO guidelines on fish marketing premises, a single-storey building situated close to the landing area enables fast, minimal handling of fish while also reducing structural and drainage costs. This layout allows vehicles direct access for loading, and operations can be conducted at a height convenient for workers standing at processing tables. The design should ensure a smooth, logical sequence from fish receipt to loading and transportation, with no unnecessary backtracking or cross-contamination risks.

Access roads and transport facilities 🔗

A fish market is only as good as the roads connecting it to suppliers and buyers. Well-constructed roads that connect markets to retail outlets, landing centres, and interior markets are essential for easy transportation. Adequate parking space and loading or unloading facilities – including appropriate equipment – must be factored into the design. Without these, markets become congested, delays increase, and fish quality declines before it ever reaches the consumer.

Civil and structural requirements 🔗

The physical construction of a fish market must be suited to the demanding conditions of a wet, high-traffic, odour-intensive environment. Floors, walls, drainage channels, and roofing all require specific design standards to function effectively.

Flooring 🔗

Market floors take the brunt of daily operations – constant water, fish waste, brine, and heavy foot and vehicle traffic. Floors must be hard-wearing, non-porous, washable, well-drained, non-slip, and resistant to brine, ammonia, and fish oil. Granolithic concrete is commonly used due to its cost-effectiveness, while clay tiles offer greater durability and resistance to acidic substances. Regardless of material, the floor must slope adequately toward drainage channels to prevent water pooling.

Walls and roofing 🔗

Walls must be smooth, waterproof, and easy to clean. Ceramic tiles are recommended up to at least one metre in height, with a cement-rendered finish above. In tropical and humid regions, roofing design becomes especially important. Proper long eaves offer protection against direct sunshine and rain, and the roof pitch and building orientation should promote natural air circulation to reduce heat build-up around the fish. Hollow-brick walls or open grills may be appropriate in hot climates to allow cross-ventilation.

Drainage and waste management systems 🔗

Effective drainage is one of the most critical and often neglected aspects of fish market infrastructure. Fish markets generate large volumes of liquid waste – a mix of water, blood, fish oils, scales, and offal – that must be removed quickly and safely.

Three separate drainage systems are recommended where possible: one for domestic foul sewage, one for storm water and surface runoff, and a main drainage system for liquid waste from fish handling. Main drains must not connect directly to sewers without an intermediate trap and should be large enough to carry all waste water without backing up. Drain pipes in fish terminals should be at least 15 cm in diameter, though local health authorities should be consulted for any stricter national standards.

Solid waste from market floors – scales, entrails, fish discards – must be managed separately. Runoff from market and processing floors should be channelled through a basket drain made of stainless steel or plastic to separate solids before they enter the drainage system, preventing blockages and controlling pest attraction. In rural markets, liquid waste may be directed to a septic tank and soakaway system when connection to a main sewer is unavailable.

Ice-making and cold storage facilities 🔗

Ice and cold storage are the backbone of fresh fish quality. Without them, fish cannot be preserved from landing to sale, and market value drops rapidly. Ice maintains the chilling temperatures that most directly influence the quality and storage life of fresh fish – and is essential at every stage, from handling on board the vessel to distribution and retail display.

Ice plants 🔗

Several types of ice-making equipment are available for fish markets, each with different operational characteristics. Block ice plants allow for easier transport over long distances with low melt losses, but require more floor space, lifting equipment, and higher maintenance. Flake, plate, and tube ice plants produce small ice that is gentler on fish flesh and starts production almost immediately when switched on, though it tends to melt faster and requires more storage space. For most small to mid-scale markets, flake or plate ice machines offer the best balance of flexibility and ease of handling.

The ice plant must have sufficient capacity to cover at least the expected daily fish landings, plus an additional buffer for a fish collection system if one is in operation. The ice store should be capable of holding at least two days’ worth of ice production to account for demand fluctuations. Critically, the location of the ice plant must be convenient to end users – fishermen and traders – not just structurally optimal for engineers.

Cold storage rooms 🔗

Chilled rooms for storage of iced fish must be sized based on expected market throughput. Cold storage is a key component of wholesale, processed, export, and retail value chain activities, and quality deterioration during storage is the leading cause of fish loss and waste at this stage. Temperature fluctuations are especially damaging – they cause partial thawing and refreezing, which creates large ice crystals that physically damage fish muscle tissue. Cold rooms must therefore maintain stable temperatures, with reliable insulation and power backup.

For markets at a larger scale, infrastructure may also include freezing plants, ice plants, fish meal plants, pre-processing centres, and dedicated cold storage depending on the volume and type of products handled. These facilities together constitute a cold chain – a continuous temperature-controlled system from landing to the end buyer.

Water supply and basic utility services 🔗

A reliable supply of clean water is non-negotiable in any fish marketing facility. Water is needed continuously – for washing fish, cleaning surfaces, operating ice machines, and maintaining hygiene standards throughout the market. There is a need for clean, fresh or sea water both at landing points and within the market premises, with adequate pressure for washing and disinfecting operations.

Electricity supply is equally vital. It powers cold storage units, ice machines, lighting, and communication equipment. Key infrastructure and related services – including electricity, transport, and markets – must be upgraded to ensure cold chain systems are effectively implemented. In locations where grid electricity is unreliable, solar-powered cold storage or backup generators are increasingly considered as part of the infrastructure plan.

Sanitation and worker amenities 🔗

A hygienic fish market requires more than clean floors and drainage. Worker welfare facilities are directly linked to sanitation outcomes. Sanitary facilities – including toilets, showers, and handwashing basins – are necessary both for the comfort of crew and workers and to ensure hygiene standards are maintained. Toilet rooms must be physically separated from fish working areas and well lit. The design of these facilities depends on the local water effluent disposal system and any applicable regulations.

Beyond toilets and washrooms, markets may also benefit from rest areas, a canteen or food store for workers, and basic first aid provisions. These amenities reduce fatigue, support productivity, and contribute to the overall standard of operations within the facility.

Communication infrastructure 🔗

Efficient fish marketing depends on timely information – about prices, fish volumes, vessel arrivals, and buyer demand. A reliable communication system is necessary to route collecting vessels, decide on quantities of ice and fuel to be supplied, and to obtain timely marketing information. Telephone lines, internet connectivity, and public address systems within large market halls all support smoother coordination between fishers, traders, and buyers.

Communication facilities, together with large-scale storage, cold storage, ice provision, water, and waste management systems, are all identified as essential components of a well-functioning wholesale fish market. When any of these elements is missing or inadequate, the entire system suffers.

The cost of poor infrastructure 🔗

The consequences of inadequate fish market infrastructure are measurable and severe. Many fishing communities lack access to reliable cold storage, ice-making machines, and temperature-controlled vehicles – and this directly leads to high post-harvest losses, reduced shelf life, and limited market access. Fresh fish traders without access to ice are forced to sell at rapidly declining prices as the day progresses, with leftover stock selling for a fraction of morning prices by evening. This is not just an economic loss – it is a food security failure.

Conversely, markets that invest strategically in infrastructure see measurable returns. Investing in decentralised cold chain units and upgrading existing facilities can greatly improve the marketing potential of fish products. Better infrastructure also opens pathways to quality certification, export markets, and higher prices for producers.

Planning for the future 🔗

Good infrastructure planning does not just address current needs – it anticipates growth. Setting aside space for future expansion is recognised as an important design consideration in fish landing and marketing facilities. Markets should be designed with scalability in mind, whether that means additional cold room capacity, more loading bays, or upgraded waste management systems as throughput grows.

Sustainability is also becoming a core part of infrastructure design. Solar-powered cold storage, biodegradable packaging, and hybrid refrigeration units are gaining attention as greener alternatives to conventional energy-intensive systems. Public-private partnerships and government subsidies are increasingly being used to fund infrastructure upgrades, particularly in small-scale and artisanal fisheries settings where individual investment capacity is limited.

What do you think? If you were designing a fish market from scratch for a small coastal community, which infrastructure component would you prioritise first – and why? And how do you think the absence of just one facility, like a reliable ice plant, could affect the entire fish marketing chain from fisher to consumer?

References

1. https://www.fao.org/flw-in-fish-value-chains/value-chain/wholesale/landing-sites-in-small-scale-fisheries/en/
2. https://foodforwardndcs.panda.org/food-supply-chains/reducing-post-harvest-food-loss-in-fisheries-supply-chains/
3. https://www.fao.org/4/p3407e/p3407e13.htm
4. https://www.fao.org/4/t0388e/T0388E03.htm
5. https://www.fao.org/flw-in-fish-value-chains/value-chain/flw-in-fish-value-chainsvalue-chainwholesale/urban-wholesale/services-infrastructure/fr/
6. https://www.fao.org/4/X5624E/x5624e07.htm
7. https://www.fao.org/flw-in-fish-value-chains/value-chain/wholesale/landing-sites-in-small-scale-fisheries/appropriate-technology/en
8. https://www.fao.org/flw-in-fish-value-chains/value-chain/processing-storage/cold-storage/en/
9. https://www.fao.org/flw-in-fish-value-chains/value-chain/processing-storage/freezing/services-infrastructure/en
10. https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/enhancing-cold-chain-infrastructure-for-fish-distribution-136447.html
11. https://thefishsite.com/articles/post-harvest-fish-losses
12. https://www.fao.org/flw-in-fish-value-chains/resources/articles/improved-post-harvest-practices-for-fish-loss-and-waste-reduction/en/