THE fish breeding season is drawing near, and the sea fishing season was suspended starting from 1 May. The fishing boats and trawlers return to the jetties in Yangon, and the capture of fish and prawns is suspended for two months, according to the Sanpya fish market in Kyimyindine township.

Saltwater fishing was prohibited for three months from 1 May to the end of July, and the fishing ban season was changed from May to June to ensure the saltwater product security in the local market. Therefore, fishing was banned in Myanmar’s waters starting from 1 May.

“The fishing ban season starts tomorrow, and all the fishing boats from the sea return to the Yangon jetties. Therefore, the jetties are crowded. All the fish and prawns captured from the sea will be sold at the jetty for two days, and the fishing boats will suspend their operations. There are over a hundred types of marine products. Today, the season ends and the boats bring over 20 types of marine products. The owners of boats, workers, employees and wholesalers are all in good condition this year,” said U Tun Hla Aung from Sanpya Fish Market's MMD Company.

The fishing boats and trawlers that return to the Yangon jetty bring over 20 types of marine products and resell them to the wholesale centres. They are also transported to cold storage facilities and resold within two months.

“Although all the entrepreneurs faced losses last year, all can make profits this year. The sales are in good condition, and the consumers can buy at fairer prices so it is a win-win situation for the business people and consumers. The fish prices are not very different as the products are available in every season. During the two-month fishing ban season, one tonne of platu and goldfish and so on are kept in cold storage, and we now save the products to resell. Although we want to store more, we can store about 100,000 tonnes due to the high cost of cold storage," said Daw Tin Nwe from the Kyimyindine Sanpya fish market.

Marine products are indeed captured in both the Ayeyawady and Taninthayi regions of Myanmar and distributed to fish markets across the nation. The products are also exported via the cold storage facilities.

Thitsa (MNA)/KTZH

#TheGlobalNewLightOfMyanmar