By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Union of Fishermen announced, on Saturday, the start of the fishing season for Zubaidi fish in Kuwaiti territorial waters, after the end of the fishing ban period that started 45 days before. The price of local Zubaidi on the first day has exceeded KD 13 to reach KD 15.5 per kilo, despite the lack of availability at fish markets.

President of the Kuwaiti Union of Fishermen Dhaher Al-Sowian.

President of the Kuwaiti Union of Fishermen, Dhaher Al-Sowian, announced earlier that the decision to prevent seasonal fishing was aimed to protect and develop the fish stock and give the opportunity and time for Zubaidi fish to breed. Sowian stressed the importance of adhering to the laws regulating fishing to preserve and protect fisheries from extinction, calling for a review of the support provided to the fishing sector to ensure food security and the sustainability of fish resources "as a strong pillar of the national economy."

Kuwait Times spoked with fish shop workers and discussed the reason for the price increase and the issue behind the lack of fish in the market. Mohammad Nazir, a fish shop worker, said that the price of Kuwaiti Zubaidi starts from KD 14 per kilo, while Kuwaiti Hamour is sold for KD 5 and Balool fish for KD 7 per kilo. Nazir mentioned that the kilo of Kuwaiti Zubaidi was sold for KD 8 last week, saying that the low demand from individual customers and the decreasing number of fish is the reason behind this increment.

Mohammad Abu Hamza said the increasing number of fish restaurants and fish shops outside the fish market led to the price increase due to their increased demand, and that caused shortages in many types of fish such as Meed fish which is not available in the market and reaches KD 5 per kilo if found. Abu Hamza says this practice has caused a severe shortage in imported fish, not only local, and that for many reasons, one of them is the competitive offers they provide to customers.

Abu Hamza pointed out that the fish market was receiving seven to right tons of fish daily while recently the market does not receive more than four tons of fish and not on daily basis, and the price increased 70 percent for some types of fish like Noebi fish.

"The fish market is no longer limited to simple workers. During the pandemic, the market has shifted to supply its products and divided it between small fish shops and merchants who dominated most of the available fish in the market," Abu Hamza said.

Rizq Ahmad, another fish shop worker, said meanwhile that after the pandemic, the fish market witnessed a severe weakness in the availability of fish which affected their business. He added that it is better for them to decrease the prices and sell more due to the weak income they suffer from.

Rizk pointed out that fish shops do not decide the prices, saying "I buy the Zubaidi from the fishermen for KD 14 per kilo, and due to increased price, I sell it for KD14 and half, while if I increased the price more no one will buy it, and in both ways, I am losing."

Meanwhile, Mahdi Abu Jawad, a fish shop worker, said that the price of Iranian fresh Zubaidi has increased to reach KD 11 Saturday, while it was KD 8.5 per kilo one week before, due to the lack of availability.