Fish prices have started to drop at the Male' Fish Market.
Skipjack tuna is being sold at the market today at a rate of 30 to 35 MVR per kilo. Most stalls are selling a kilo of fish for 30 MVR today. Last week, skipjack tuna was sold at an average of 35 MVR per kilo. Therefore, prices have dropped significantly today.
Fish sellers at the market stated that although there were some difficulties in obtaining fish over the past few weeks, fish is now available every day. Predicting that fishing will improve in the coming weeks, some sellers mentioned that fish will be abundant next week, leading to a further decrease in market prices.
Yellowfin tuna is also quite abundant in the market today. Yellowfin tuna is being sold at a rate of 40 to 45 MVR per kilo. The price of yellowfin tuna has remained stable. Compared to last week, there has been no major change in the price of yellowfin tuna.
Due to bad weather, fishing was poor across all areas of the Maldives, resulting in many vessels not going out to sea earlier this month. This was due to difficulties in acquiring bait and the inability to catch enough fish to cover the vessel's expenses. Fishermen stated that fishing is expected to improve over the next two weeks. As a result, many vessels are now heading out to fish as usual.
The government fisheries company, MIFCO, distributed free ice to fishing vessels last Thursday. This initiative was aimed at encouraging fishermen to go out to sea.
