Traders curse heat for lack of fish supply

Manama 

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As the temperatures dwindling in the Kingdom, fish traders hope that the prices of fishes would come down, as they would get abundant supply of fish. Due to the shortage of fish in the market, the prices of fishes had gone up in the Kingdom.

Suman, a fish trader in Manama's Central Market, said the supply of fish comes down every year when the temperature soars in the Kingdom. “But this year, the situation worsened due to the prevalence of extreme hot climate in Bahrain.” 

Minister of Energy and Water Affairs, Dr. Abdul Hussain Mirza recently informed the Cabinet that the demand for electricity for July and August went up by 9 per cent, compared to same period last year, as mercury levels rose in Bahrain.

“Fish goes deep into the sea when the temperature soars. This affects the fish catching, leading to increase in fish price,” Suman said.

He predicted that the temperature would come down during the end of this month or beginning of next month. “Consequently, the fish catch would also improve.” 

Another fish trader at Manama Central Market, Abinash commented that the fish prices would come down at the end of this month.

“Currently, Hamoor is sold at BD7.5 per kg, while it was sold at BD5.5 to 6 per kg when the supply was aplenty. Same is the case of Shari fish, which is sold at BD3 per kg. When the supply is abundant, this fish is sold at BD1.5 per kg,” he said, adding that prices of all fish had gone up similarly due to shortage of supply. 

Recently, a group of Bahrainis launched a campaign to boycott purchasing fish from local markets in a bid to apply pressure on fish traders to reduce the soaring prices.