Provide measures to tackle rising prices of ‘ikan rakyat’

KEMAMAN, 18 Mac -- Sekumpulan pekerja melakukan proses memilih ikan Selar Kuning mengikut gred sebelum dihantar kepada peniaga di Jeti Kuala Kertih hari ini.Musim Monsun Timur Laut yang telah berakhir membolehkan nelayan turun ke laut bagi menangkap hasil laut dengan selamat.Cuaca baik dan laut tidak bergelora membolehkan mereka memperoleh pendapatan yang lebih baik setelah mereka tidak dapat ke laut sejak November tahun lepas.--fotoBERNAMA (2018) HAK CIPTA TERPELIHARA

KUALA LUMPUR: Prices of “ikan rakyat” (commonly consumed fish by Malaysians) will continue to rise, unless measures are taken to address the issue, said Marine Fish Farmers Association Malaysia (MFFAM) deputy president Mohamed Razali Mohamed.

"The Council of Eminent Persons is very concerned about the rising prices of fish and seafood in general.

"They want feedback from the industry players to see what action can be taken to lessen the burden on the people, specifically on the prices of fish and seafood," he told reporters after meeting the CEP at Ilham Tower on Tuesday (June 12).

He said the problem of rising fish prices was a regional issue, driven by supply and demand.

Among the commonly consumed fish or "ikan rakyat" he said, were the yellow-stripped scad (selar), kembung (mackerel) and cencaru (torpedo scad).

"Another factor also is that Malaysians ranked fourth in the world for fish consumption per capita.

"For example, the US and Europe consume about 20kg of fish per capita compared with 57kg by Malaysians.

"It is healthy problem, but still a problem," he said.

He said prices of kembung had gone up from RM5 per kg 10 years ago to more than RM12kg currently due to shortage of supply.

Currently, Mohamed said that about 1.7mil tonnes of fish are caught and harvested locally a year.

Of this, he said 400tonnes are fresh water fish and another 400tonnes are considered trash fish meant as animal fodder.

Owing to this, he said that Malaysia imports between 1.6mil tonnes and 1.8mil tonnes of fish annually.

Mohamed suggested that more “ikan rakyat” fish be imported from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to meet demand here.

He added that more investment was also needed to increase fish farming and deep- sea fishing ventures.