Following reports that fishermen participated in a strike to protest new regulations, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has requested the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources and the Public Authority for Manpower to make a case against 23 owners of fish importing companies, fishermen and workers on boats, who reportedly refrained from fishing yesterday.
The ministry justified its decision by pointing out that the intent for the halt in fishing was an attempt by some fishermen to artificially reduce fish supply and enable a price rise. The new regulations initiated by the ministry were aimed at controlling price increases and regulating the market; hence expats were barred from entering the fish auction till its end as they were seen as partly responsible. The MoCI ministry officials were present on Tuesday at the Souq Sharq fish market to monitor the fish auction, and consequently, the price of a basket of mullet dropped from KD 84 per basket to as low as KD 8.
While fish prices reportedly dropped dramatically on the first day of the fish auction, there were price hikes again yesterday after it was reported that fishermen were involved in boycotts in protest of the regulations. Though many attributed the reason for the increase to the smaller catch from fishermen, and thus smaller quantities available in the market.
However, head of the Kuwait Fishermen Union Thaher Al-Suwayyan told officials that fishermen did not strike and are going about their work as usual. He added that prices are linked to the catch rate, which fell yesterday for many reasons, including bad weather.
He mentioned that officials understand the fishermen union’s demands, and steps will be taken to ensure stronger cooperation between the union and the commerce ministry.
He said the fishermen union is concerned with supplying the local market with fish and maintaining prices at reasonable levels. He added that all of the fishermen’s catch goes to the local market, and pointed out that the fish auction is conducted with total transparency under the supervision of concerned government authorities.
With regards to fishing issues, Suwayyan revealed that the designated places to fish for mullet are not feasible as mullets live in shallow waters, and the union is talking with concerned authorities to find a solution for this problem.
Meanwhile, Municipal Councilmember Abdulsalam Al-Randi praised the new regulations by the commerce ministry that prevented expats from participating in auctions, as it helped to end the “greed of some merchants’. Most of the price hikes in fish auctions are blamed on expatriate auctioneers who allegedly raise the prices to increase their profits.
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