Shamal winds leave fish business reeling

Manama

 The Kingdom has been facing shortage of fish due to Al Barreh winds, which ripped through Bahrain a few days ago.

 The Al Barreh winds, locally known as Shamal winds, had hit the Kingdom by June 7, hitting the seafood business hard.

 The Meteorological Department of Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication had earlier stated that moderate to occasionally strong winds would affect the Kingdom.

 Farooq, fish seller at Riffa fish market told DT News that the fishermen had not been able to catch enough fish due to Al Barreh winds, which had been hitting the Kingdom on regular intervals.

 “We are not receiving enough fish from fishermen. Therefore, the prices of seafood have also gone up by up by 50 per cent,” he said.

 The customers at the market also complained of lack of availability of enough variety of fish. “I have been paying more for fish since a few days. Moreover, I am not getting the fish of my choice,” said one of the customers.

  On the other hand, the mutton and beef section saws heavy rush, owing to the shortage of fish. Though there was enough supply of mutton and beef, the stock got over early, said a meat seller at the Riffa market.

 According to weather forecasters, the reason for the Shamal winds is a seasonal low pressure that forms over central and southern parts of Pakistan and extend to the Arabian Gulf, usually during the second week of June, until mid July.

 The area is affected mainly because of the lack of mountains in the eastern parts of the Arab peninsula.

 Last year, Al Barreh winds had lashed the Kingdom on June 4, reducing the visibility to less than 400 meters sometimes, affecting the movement of land, marine, and air transportation in Bahrain as well as other GCC countries.