At the quay market, fishers, sellers of preserved food and carriers bargain with customers from several quarters. A purchase made beside the water may cost more by the time it reaches an upper stair. Coin settles some exchanges; for neighbours who trade through lean seasons, credit and reputation matter as much. When storms keep boats ashore, the market becomes a place to exchange news as well as the little food that remains.
From Boat to Stair
Before the first buyers arrive, carriers wait for boats to unload. A seller may pay for a basket to be taken to an upper quarter, but the cost changes if a common passage is closed and the load must climb another stair. Such charges are remembered more readily than any formal price list. A fish can become dearer without changing hands simply because it has to travel farther uphill.
The Empty Hook
At one stall an empty hook is sometimes left in view when the day's catch has failed. The custom is said to discourage customers from asking the same question all morning, though some sellers keep the hook up even after fresh fish arrives because it invites conversation. Apprentices joke that the hook catches more promises than fish. Its origin is not recorded.
The Quay's Night Catch
Under the market awning, a fish seller can often tell that the autumn catch has begun before the first crew reaches her stall: the salting barrels have been brought out, the drying racks cleared, and apprentices are arguing over which boat will arrive first. Her knowledge comes from work on shore rather than from reading currents, and on a poor day it may be the only useful knowledge left. When the boats return with little to sell, she knows which neighbours will accept a smaller fish and which will ask for credit.