| Achong Tanjong |
THE unpredictable weather and rough seas are among the factors causing most fishmongers at the Gadong wet market to temporarily close their stalls.
The Weekend Bulletin conducted a survey at the market yesterday and found most fish stalls were empty due to lack of supply.
According to a fishmonger, most of his supplies come from neighbouring Malaysia from places such as Lawas in Sarawak and Sipitang in Sabah.
“For the last several days, fishmongers here were only supplied with a few tonnes of fish, not enough to meet demand. Moreover, most of them are large ones,” he said.
The vendor said that small fish such as mackerel (ikan tenggiri), red snapper (ikan merah) and stingray (pari) are very popular among local customers.
“We have not received enough supply for the past four to six days,” he added.
However, he said fresh water prawns (udang galah) are plentiful as there is constant supply, with fishmongers getting them from Kota Kinabalu and Lawas.
The price of the fresh water prawns depends on size – B$18 per kilo for small ones and B$22 for the medium-sized ones.
The current bad weather naturally makes it difficult for fishermen to catch enough fish, affecting suppliers and fishmongers.
Typically February is the second driest month of the year.
However, the country experienced rainy days from February 1 with rainfall recorded as of February 5 at 82.8mm, more than half the long-term normal rainfall for the month, according to the Brunei Darussalam Meteorological Department. Brunei is in the second phase of the Northeast Monsoon period.
Haji Boi, a fishmonger at the Gadong wet market, said, “When the weather is bad, not many fishing boats would go out to sea. So, we get less supply.”
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