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Jakarta Post

Fish prices soar due to scarcity

Prices of fresh fish and other sea products have soared in the last few weeks as bad weather has kept the island’s fishermen on shore, significantly decreasing the supply of the much sought-after commodities

Wasti Atmodjo (The Jakarta Post)
Denpasar
Mon, February 13, 2012

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Fish prices soar due to scarcity

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rices of fresh fish and other sea products have soared in the last few weeks as bad weather has
kept the island’s fishermen on shore, significantly decreasing the supply of the much sought-after commodities.

A member of Kedongan’s Kerta Bali fishermen’s group, Wayan Nasib said that production levels of local fishermen had dropped by 50 percent since torrential rain and powerful gales began pummeling the island and its offshore areas in December.

In normal days, fishermen at the beach that lies next to the famous Jimbaran beach could bring home more than 1,000 kilograms of fresh fish per day.

Since the extreme weather hit the beach, most of the fishermen’s 600 traditional outriggers, jukung, have spent more time beached than at sea.

“Some of the fishermen have braved the bad weather and took their jukung to sea but even these brave men would not dare to go farther than 2 miles from the shoreline and they steer the jukung back the moment the weather deteriorates,” he said.

Nasib pointed out that the traditional jukung were very small vessels.

“It doesn’t take a giant wave or a super strong wind to get a jukung into trouble. That’s why we always have to be vigilant about the changes in the surrounding weather. Moreover, the number of fish in the area has also decreased during this period of bad weather,” he said, adding that the December-March period is traditionally a slow period for the local fishermen.

“We spend this period fixing the nets or restoring the jukung. Some of us also take temporary jobs on construction sites,” he added.

The owner of a food stall in Serangan specializing in grilled fish, Wayan Sri, admitted that she had to increase the price of her food two months ago due to the decreasing supply of fresh fish.

 A set meal consisting of rice, vegetables and 300 grams of grilled fish now commands a price of Rp 40,000. The normal price for the same meal was Rp 30,000.

“I had to increase the price because the supply of fresh fish has significantly decreased in the last few months. The decreased supply has driven the price of fresh fish up and I only grill fresh fish here. So I have no choice other than to increase the price,” she said.

Similar price increases have also been seen in various traditional markets. In Sanglah traditional market, the price of fresh fish has doubled.

“When the supply returns to normal levels the price will automatically be corrected,” a fish trader Ni Made Sarni said.

Provincial fishery and maritime agency official Made Dwi Wirya Astawa stated that in the last three months of 2011, the production level of the local fishermen had dropped by 39 percent. In that period the local fishermen caught 42,000 tons of fresh fish, decreasing from 58,600 tons recorded in the same period in 2010.

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