Fujairah Fish Prices and Other Foods Rise Due to Cyclone Gonu

Articles on the centrality of the fishing industry to Fujairah and to the Emirati diet, receive a new complexion in the light of the soaring price of fresh fish.

Fish markets have closed in Kalba and Fujairah due to the interruption to fishing on the UAE east coast but early birds to the supermarkets might be lucky to score some fish for tonight’s dinner. However, in supermarkets today, shoppers were discovering not only a diminishing of volume but a narrowing of the range of fish available.

Supermarkets were working hard to purchase fish for Fujairah customers from nearby Sharjah (hammour, saal and sheri) and from international suppliers in India (Black Pompret) and Pakistan (coffer). Saudi Arabia was also sending fish across the border.

The biggest discovery for Fujairah customers today will be what is written on the price tickets.

At the large Lulu Hypermarket in Fujairah today (9 June 2007) here is an indication of some of the price increases (in dirham per kg) according to their fishmongers:

Hammour, usually 28.00 today 36.00
Saal, usually 9.90 today 17.00
Sheri, usually 7-10 today 17.00
Coffer, usually 8-9 today 22.00

Shop assistants were reporting other foods in short supply, possibly causing a rise in prices. Omani supplies of bottled water had been disrupted due to Cyclone Gonu. Other Fujairah brands such as Masafi water were still available.

Vigilant shoppers might want to check today’s supermarket prices against the price of goods on 7 April 2007 when a large number of goods from the Fujairah Lulu Hypermarket were listed and prices recorded. The link for this list is ‘Food Shopping in the United Arab Emirates.’

Geoff Pound

Image: Fish at Fujairah Lulu Hypermarket today.

Extra Oily Fish in Fujairah

Yesterday dead fish were laid up on the beach just north of the Hilton Hotel. The normally azure-colored waves were inky black.

Today, much of the evidence has been cleared away by the Municipality beach cleaners, picked over by the birds and sucked back into the sea by the tide. A decidedly dead fishy smell lingers even a kilometer away from the beach. This spill appears to be small but the effects last long after the initial victims are removed from the beach.

Unfortunately, this is not the best time to be swimming in the briny or buying fresh fish, unless, you like your fillets cooked with crude, rather than olive oil.

“Fujairah's port works closely with government agencies throughout the UAE to protect the marine environment,” said Capt Mousa Murad, general manager of the Port of Fujairah, at the first session of the recent (24-28 March) Fujairah-hosted Bunkering Conference.

But how are spillages from the scores of oil tankers in Fujairah waters investigated and who carries the can for the damage to the fishing industry, let alone the marine and bird life?

Earlier this week, in a Gulf News article on the water activities around the Fujairah coastline, staff writer Maey el Shoush, was waxing eloquently about the ‘pristine beauty’ of this area.

Pristine, our environment might be, but so vulnerable.

Geoff Pound

Image: One of the many voiceless victims.