DAMMAM: Fish prices have shot up by as much as 30 percent across the Kingdom over the last five days due to a depleted catch resulting from heavy wind, bad weather, scattered rain and heavy sandstorms in the Eastern Province. The stormy weather has prevented fishermen from going out to the sea. Authorities have warned fishermen not to go to sea until Sunday. Due to the heavy winds lashing the Eastern Province shores, more than 1,000 fishing boats have been anchored in Qatif, Saihat and Darrien. The price hike is because of a severe shortage of fish, said traders at the Dammam and Qatif fish markets Thursday. “The prices were relatively low for the last two weeks but they went up suddenly after the cold and windy weather. Any fall in the prices can be expected only with a change in weather conditions,” said Ali Hassan, a longtime fisherman in the Qatif area. The three-meter-high waves caused by the heavy wind can cause accidents at sea, he added. Farooq, an Indian national and a long time employee at Dammam Municipal fish market, said many varieties of fish were either in short supply or not available at all. He said the poor weather was also keeping customers away. Fish varieties like safe and rubeeb were selling Thursday at SR50 per kilo, about twice the normal price while smaller varieties were available from SR18 to SR20. Prices of hamour and kingfish shot up from SR30 to SR45 within four days while other fish prices also saw a similar price hike, reaching SR50 a kilogram. According to fish traders at the Qatif wholesale fish market, salmon fillets cost SR40 a kilogram last week, an increase from SR30 a kilogram. A whole salmon cost SR35 per kilo.
