Many families are likely to have second thoughts about having a meal of fish with the price expected to rise by as much as 33 percent in the next few days. Shop owners at the city's Central Fish Market attributed the rise to a shortage as a result of less fishing, in addition to a 25 to 30 percent increase in the cost of bait fish like sardines and squid. Mahmoud, “King of Sardine”, as fishermen call him, said it is a matter of supply and demand. High summer temperatures have made many fish move to colder waters, he said. Fishing for certain variety that is in demand is hard, so there has been a reduction in supply. The supply of sardine has also decreased, he added. Khaled Al-Habashi, a fisherman, said fishing areas in the Red Sea these days are congested with fishermen's boats and getting large quantities of fish is “very hard”. In addition to high temperatures, “unthoughtful” fishing has resulted in fewer numbers of sought-after fish. Many have migrated far away, he said. However, those in the business say there is a big difference between fish prices in the fish market and in supermarkets and stores. Hamour is being sold at supermarkets for SR25 a kg while it costs SR60 to SR70 in the fish market, said fish merchant Abdullah. It is supposed to be the other way around with fish market prices lower than supermarkets, he added. Some major fish companies and fish merchants have been importing fish from neighboring countries like Yemen, where Hamour fish is cheaper. __
