The price of fish and other seafood has more than doubled recently because of the high seas that do not allow local fishermen to fish easily off the Mogadishu coast.Osman Mayow, a fish seller in Mogadishu’s fish market, said one kilogram of fish had increased from 60,000 to 150,000 Somali shillings over the past three months.
“It is due to the worsening sea levels so most of the fishing boats are not going out to fish,” Mayow told Radio Ergo’s local reporter. He said the fishermen that dared to go to sea came back with small catches after a very short time, for fear of being trapped by the high seas.
A fisherman Ali Abdi said this season of high seas and high prices would soon end. “Then the price will be reduced and become normal,” he said.
The consumption of fish has been becoming more popular with the residents of Mogadishu in recent years. But due to the rising prices many people had turned to other food items. Sahro Mohamud, a householder, said her family used to buy 1 kg of fish a day, but the increasing prices had made her reduce her purchase to half a kilo. She complained that the prices of all essential food commodities had risen because fewer commodities had been coming in by sea.
Farhiya/MR
