0 Bad weather affects fish supply

Extreme weather conditions battering Bali’s shores over the past several weeks have forced local fishermen to stay ashore , thus affecting the supply of fresh fish. Made Gunaja, head of the provincial Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency, said Tuesday that his office received reports that many fishermen were being kept on land by the huge waves and heavy rains, including in the island’s center of fish production in Kedonganan, south Badung. 

He said the fish supply at local markets had declined significantly, with fish now being shipped overland from Java supplementing the catch from the few fishermen who were still brave enough to go out to sea. “Some places are relying on fish supplied from Java,” he said, citing the center of pindang fish in Kusamba, Klungkung regency, as one of the examples. Fish seller at Badung traditional market, Jro Melati, said the fish supply to vendors had dropped by around half the normal supply, both in quantity and in the variety of fish. 

“There are usually 10 kinds of fish, but now we only get supplies of around five kinds,” she said. For each variety, vendors usually got around 30 kilograms, but they only got between 10 to 15 kilograms these days, she added. At the market, the limited supply has increased the price by around Rp 3,000 to Rp 5,000 (31-52 US cents) per kilogram. Gunaja predicted that this situation would persist until March, the end of the rainy season. 

To help fishermen facing these conditions, he said the agency had implemented a program in which the fishermen were helped to breed freshwater fish, so that they would not be jobless and could still earn some money during the rainy days. “We provide the fry and the food, and the fishermen provide an area in which they can make a fish pond,” he told Bali Daily, adding that the program had been implemented in Ketewel, Gianyar. 

According to the agency’s data, fish catches during 2012 had decreased by 12.73 percent to 781.64 tons, from 100,501 tons in the previous year. “Besides the bad weather in certain periods, another reason is that the fish population around Bali has decreased. It might be due to unsuitable catching equipment,” Gunaja said. To help fishermen catch more fish, the agency last year also donated 30 large boats that enabled them to go further than 12 miles out to sea. 

The large waves these last few days has also affected conditions on Lebih Beach, where food stalls selling fish dishes have seen less customers. Local fishermen said the high waves usually occurred from around midnight until the dawn. They usually monitor the conditions to anticipate any impact from the waves on the coastal village. “We usually take turns to stay awake until the morning comes, to anticipate any disaster that could happen,” said I Kadek Ana, leader of the fishermen’s group.

source : bali daily