Kuwait’s fish prices are rising high due to dusty weather. An official from the Fishermen’s Union in Sharq said that the rise in the price was expected due to bad weather over the last four days. The Zubaidi variety for example [large size] was priced at KD five per kilogram last week. Now, it is sold at KD 6. The same applies to Hamour variety as well; last week it was sold at KD 4 per kilogram, now it costs KD 5 [the large size].
He told that the dusty weather condition has contributed to the rise in prices when many fishermen during prefer to stay ashore. In addition, summer is already slow [catch by quantity] because most of the fishermen are on leave. He also said that fish are traditionally not plentiful during summer because we already know that many Kuwaitis and expatriates spend the summer outside [of Kuwait].
The information revealed that 20 percent of the market consumption are obtained Kuwaiti waters, the remaining are imported from neighboring countries such as Iran, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Thailand. Press reports yesterday claimed that the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) plans to introduce a ban on fishing in Kuwaiti waters for at least two years.
Last year, a group of fishermen backed up by Fisherman’s Union staged a few days of protest against PAAAFR fishing ban order on certain zones and the use of nylon nets. The issue was settled amicably. The PAAAFR banned the usage of nylon nets in compliance with the agreement signed between all the GCC countries for ecological reasons.
