Fish sellers fight to preserve Turku market tradition

After 65 years selling fish at Turku Market Square, 70-year-old Altti Rantamaa fears the tradition may soon disappear, Yle reports. The number of fish sellers has fallen from dozens three decades ago to just two.

Rantamaa still drives 90 kilometres to his sales stall twice a week. He says he continues mainly to keep the tradition alive, even though the business no longer provides a proper income.

Rantamaa comes from a family of fishermen and first learned the trade from his father at the age of five. He began selling fish independently after obtaining his driving licence 52 years ago.

He catches most of the fish he sells himself. On the day of Yle’s report, his selection included smoked vendace, smoked bream and fresh vendace.

According to Rantamaa, market sellers cannot compete with supermarket prices, particularly those of imported Norwegian fish and rainbow trout. Fish promotions are advertised in newspapers, on television and on the radio.

“You simply cannot match supermarket fish prices at a market,” Rantamaa said. “The fish cost me something too. They do not come out of the sea for free.”

He believes Finnish fish has been pushed aside as consumers have become more careful about their spending. Unlike in the past, customers now pay close attention to the day’s price, he said.

The market’s customer base has also changed. Smoked fish sells reasonably well, but fresh fish is increasingly expected to be ready to eat. Older customers who were willing to gut the fish themselves have largely disappeared, Rantamaa said.

The current summer is the fourth market season since Turku Market Square was renovated. The renovation brought more cafes and restaurants to the square, while several traditional market traders stopped operating.

Turku has about 50 regular market businesses, including 25 permanent traders with annual contracts, said Hanna Sjöbring, the city’s market-place manager.

“The city seeks to support this as much as possible. It is important for the city’s diversity and the development of the city centre that this form of commerce remains alive,” Sjöbring said.

Sjöbring estimates that about 20 million people pass through Turku Market Square each year. However, she said the purpose and significance of markets are changing, with traditional selling perhaps declining and being replaced by experiences and events.

Rain kept customers away from Rantamaa’s stall during the morning of Yle’s visit. One regular customer, Hannu Saarinen from Kaarina, still came to buy vendace, as he does once a week.

Saarinen said he considers fish bought at the market fresher and better. He believes access and parking make the market less attractive than supermarkets, which are easier to reach by car.

Rantamaa has paid 1,500 euros a year for his nine-square-metre stall, with parking charged separately. The city recently provided cake and coffee to honour him and fellow trader Touko Salonen for 50 years of market entrepreneurship.