Fish Supplies Affected in Bali as Bad Weather Continues

Made Gunaja, head of the provincial agency for fishery and marine affairs, said that his office received reports that many fishermen were being kept on land by the huge waves and heavy rains, including in the islands center of fish production in Kedonganan, south Badung.

He said the fish supply at local markets had declined significantly, with fish now being shipped overland from Java to supplement the catch from the few fishermen who were still brave enough to go out to sea, reports TheJakartaPost.

Some places are relying on fish supplied from Java, he told the newspaper, citing the center of pindang fish in Kusamba, Klungkung regency, as an example.

Mr Gunaja has predicted that this situation would persist until March, the end of the rainy season.

To help fishermen facing these conditions, he said the agency had implemented a programme in which the fishermen were helped to breed freshwater fish, so that they would not be jobless and could still earn some money during the rainy season.

We provide the fry and the food, and the fishermen provide an area in which they can make a fish pond, he said, adding that the program had been implemented in Ketewel, Gianyar.

According to the agencys data, fish catches during 2012 had decreased by 12.73 per cent to 781.64 tons, from 100,501 tons in the previous year.