32,000kg shrimp caught in Bahrain in a day
Manama, July 17, 2014
More than 32,000 kilos of shrimp were caught yesterday (July 16) morning as Bahrain lifted a seasonal ban on shrimping.
It was double the anticipated catch of the popular crustacean, considered a local delicacy, said Fishermen Protection Society president Jassim Al Jeran.
He told the GDN the start of the season was already much better than last year, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
"The beginning of the catch was much better than the first day last year," he told the GDN.
"Last year the season was awful, we caught just 11,000 to 13,000 compared to this year's 32,000kg.
"About 250 dhows went out yesterday morning to fish and they brought in an average of 160kg each.
"First thing in the morning at 5am, the shrimp was being sold at about BD1.800 per kilo, or BD75 for a full 40kg container.
"By 7.30am, it was down to BD1.300 or BD55 per container."
However, he said the first day was not an accurate measurement for the rest of the season.
"You can't take the first day as a measurement, we have to continue for a week and then see the week at a whole," he said.
"It will go down and we'll see by the end of the week.
"Even if it's a good season, it'll be two or three containers for each dhow, if it's not so good we expect between one and one-and-a-half."
Al Jeran said the increase in catch was due to a reduction in the number of fishermen flouting the ban this year.
He added that he believed people buying shrimp in the coming days were stocking up.
"At the moment, most people who buy prawns buy it to store it," he said.
"There's a high demand because they take it and freeze it.
"Eventually the demand will decrease because people will have it in stock."
He said there were 275 dhows in Bahrain that have shrimping licenses.
"The number of licenses are the same, but whether or not people use their licence changes," he said.
"This year there has been a few that have not gone out yet."
A shrimping ban is imposed in Bahraini waters every year from March 15 to July 15, coinciding with the mating season.
It is intended to allow shrimp stocks to replenish and is also imposed in other GCC countries. - TradeArabia News Service
