Fish prices have increased by 25 percent across the Kingdom during the last two weeks because of the low catch due to cold weather which is preventing fishermen from venturing onto the high seas. Many popular varieties of fish were either not available or were in short supply. Prices have gone up in the Eastern Province as the continued cold spell has grounded fishing boats. According to traders in Qatif wholesale fish market, salmon fillets, earlier sold for SR32 per kg, now cost SR40 per kg while whole salmon is priced at SR35 per kg. Traders attribute the rise in prices to the smaller amount of fish being caught. “In this climate, it is harder to go out in sea. It is so windy that people don't want to go fishing,” said Hassan, a longtime fisherman in the Anak area. Idrees, a fisherman in Qatif, confirmed that there had been an increase in price because the amount of fish caught has dropped due to the bad weather. “Fish prices have gone up, but at the end of the day, fishermen are not making more money; the brokers are making a lot of money and they are utilizing the winter weather to fill their coffers,” he added. There is no control on prices as has been demanded by brokers, he said. “Bad weather has resulted in an overall decline in the amount of fish available,” said Abdul Majeed, group manager in a seafood restaurant in Al-Khobar. “The change in weather and the strong winds that come in winter has affected the amount of fish caught recently,” said Ibrahim in Dammam fish market. The cold spell hit the province with the beginning of the new year. Also, the risky nature of the profession is making many fishermen quit and opt for other occupations. This means a smaller number of fishermen going out and the amount of fish sold to local markets going down accordingly.
