Crawford Fish Market Mumbai — the fish halls at Crawford Market
The “Crawford fish market” is not a separate street bazaar: it is the fish section of Crawford Market itself. The trade sits inside the market complex at Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai — the BMC’s own spelling for the market everyone still calls Crawford Market (also written Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market) — on Dr. D. N. Road. The fish halls you can see today are the rebuilt facility the BMC created when it moved the market’s licensed fish vendors out of the old Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Market. This page explains where the fish market is, what is on each level, why it is new, and who to call to confirm the day’s timings.
Where the fish market is inside Crawford Market
Crawford Market is the first entry on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s list of municipal markets — “1 Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai” — and the fish section is part of that complex, not a market across town. The market’s own office sits inside the building, which makes it the simplest place to confirm what is trading and when.
Market Department office
Office of the A.C. Markets, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai (Crawford Market), First Floor, Dr. D. N. Road, Mumbai 400 001
Telephone: 022-23440749
Email: ac.market@mcgm.gov.in
The market is operated through the Assistant Commissioner (Market), while minor repairs are carried out by the concerned ward office (BMC, Market Department). If you are pointing a taxi at the fish market, “Crawford Market” is still the name drivers know — see getting to Crawford Market for the full route.
The market stands on Dr. D. N. Road in Mumbai’s Fort district, a few minutes’ walk from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, in the same block as the produce, spice and pet sections Crawford Market is known for. The fish halls are part of that working municipal market rather than a separate fish bazaar with its own frontage, which is why many visitors never notice they are there.
Why the fish market is here: the move from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Market
Until recently, Mumbai’s best-known wholesale fish trade sat in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (CSM) Market. A 2012 structural audit declared that building unsafe, and the BMC vacated it in July 2021 on the direction of a Bombay High Court public-interest petition. The fish vendors had to go somewhere, and BMC’s answer was permanent rehabilitation inside the redeveloped Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market — Crawford Market.
BMC said that 348 licensed fish vendors were moved out of the unsafe CSM Market, and that stall allotment in the rehabilitated fish market was to begin in August 2025. Those figures and dates come from BMC statements reported by the Free Press Journal and Mid-Day on 8 July 2025, so treat them as the BMC’s own account rather than an independently surveyed count.
That is why a search for the “Crawford fish market” now returns a market that looks new inside a building that looks old. BMC’s Year Book records the redevelopment as ongoing: “Redevelopment work of 3 markets namely Topiwala Market, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market and Shirodkar Market is in progress.” Ten municipal markets in all are being redeveloped under DCPR 2034, Regulation 33(21)(A).
The redevelopment is a programme rather than a single project. In BMC’s own summary, Babu Genu Market is complete, construction has started at Chemburkar Market, plans are in progress for five more, and work continues at Topiwala, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Shirodkar markets (BMC Year Book 2026). Crawford Market is a market in transition, and the fish halls are the newest part of it.
What is on each floor
The rehabilitated fish market is a multi-level building. BMC statements describe the sections in this order: a basement given to wholesale fish, the ground floor to retail fish, and the first floor to eggs and chicken, with canteen, office and fish-trade transaction space above. The diagram and table below set that sequence out.
| Level | Section |
|---|---|
| Basement | Wholesale fish |
| Ground floor | Retail fish |
| First floor | Eggs and chicken |
| Second floor | Canteen and market office (as reported) |
| Third floor | Fish-trade transaction offices (as reported) |
The reported building also includes cold storage, ramps, conveyor lifts and effluent treatment, with landscaped green space around it. Newspaper reports of the redevelopment disagree on the number of parking spaces, so no parking count is repeated here.
Wholesale fish (basement). As reported, the basement is the trade’s bulk level — the section the wholesale side of the fish business uses rather than the individual shopper.
Retail fish (ground floor). The ground floor is the part a visitor buying for the kitchen uses: retail fish counters, one level up from the wholesale basement.
Eggs and chicken (first floor). The first floor puts the market’s poultry and egg trade in the same building as the fish, which is why a search for the fish market also turns up Crawford Market’s meat and poultry trade.
One caution: the older sections of Crawford Market are still being redeveloped, so what is trading on a given day can change. The market office rather than a web page is the reliable source for the state of the fish halls on the day you visit.
Timings: what is published, and what is not
No official opening hours are published for the fish halls. BMC does not publish a fish-market timetable, and the news accounts of the redevelopment do not state one either. Rather than guess, use the market office: the Office of the A.C. Markets at Crawford Market (022-23440749, ac.market@mcgm.gov.in) can confirm whether the wholesale basement and the retail fish floor are trading on a given day.
For the market building’s general hours, and the best time of day to walk the produce halls, see Crawford Market opening hours. That page covers the market as a whole; if you specifically want the fish halls, call ahead first.
Fish, meat and the BMC’s market rules
The department that runs Crawford Market also polices the city’s meat trade. Its remit covers the import and slaughter of animals and fowls and the sale of contraband meat, and it runs an illegal-slaughter vigilance squad. Confiscated chickens and fish are auctioned off rather than destroyed, and licences for meat shops outside the markets are issued by the Market Department (BMC Year Book 2026, Markets; BMC Market Department pages).
Live-fowl enforcement sits with the same office: when live fowls are seized they are taken to the nearest market, and complaints are routed through the Assistant Commissioner (Market) at Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market (Crawford Market), first floor, Dr. D. N. Road (BMC FAQ book, Market Department section).
For scale, BMC runs 92 existing municipal retail markets, 124 accommodation-reservation markets and 16 private markets, with 19,063 municipal licensees across the system (BMC Year Book 2026). Crawford Market is the first of those municipal markets — a public market, not a private bazaar.
Common questions
Is there a fish market at Crawford Market?
Yes. The fish trade is part of Crawford Market (Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai) on Dr. D. N. Road, in the fish halls built under BMC’s market redevelopment — not a separate street market elsewhere in the city.
Is the fish market inside the old heritage building?
It is part of the same market complex at Crawford Market, in the rehabilitated fish facility, while the wider Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market redevelopment is still listed by BMC as in progress. The heritage address and the new fish halls are one and the same market; the stalls themselves are the modern, rebuilt ones.
What are the fish market timings?
No official hours are published for the fish halls. Call the market office on 022-23440749 or email ac.market@mcgm.gov.in to confirm the day you plan to visit. The market building’s general hours are on the opening hours page.
Where do I complain or confirm details?
Assistant Commissioner (Market), Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai (Crawford Market), First Floor, Dr. D. N. Road, Mumbai 400 001 — 022-23440749, ac.market@mcgm.gov.in.
Getting there, and what else to see
Crawford Market sits between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and the main bus terminus, both within walking distance, and for most visitors a taxi is easier than the crowds. The full route is in getting to Crawford Market, the location is on the Crawford Market map, and the rest of the market — produce, spices, the pet corner and the imported-foods stalls — is covered in shopping in Crawford Market. To place the fish halls among the city’s other markets, see the Mumbai market hours guide, and for the story of the building itself, see Crawford Market history.




