Some Kyawt Paik fishing entrepreneurs have suspended their businesses as they are facing losses when fish and prawns do not fetch good prices, fishermen in Thandwe Township said.

The fishing industry stakeholders are facing long-term losses because the fishing industry has been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic since last year, and seafood prices are below sustainable levels.

“The fuel oil price is also increasing now, while the seafood does not get a good price. So, all Kyawt Paik fishing entrepreneurs are facing more challenges,” said U Kyaw Wai Soe, chair of the Kyawt Paik Fishing Entrepreneurs Association in Thandwe Township.

The price of fish is down from K7,000 per viss to K1,000 now, and there are few buyers even at that price, Kyawt Paik fishing entrepreneurs said.

They are facing financial difficulty to prepare their boats and nets to resume fishing in the coming monsoon season, and say they need help to sustain their business.

As many as 26 fishermen are working for a fishing boat for Kyawt Paik fishing, and they are worried that the owners will call it quits on their business.

“We have to work 25 days a month. We are paid about K8,000 a day. Many people are depending on the business,” said Ko Kular, a fisherman in Thandwe Township.

There are more than 300 fishing boats that are mainly working for Kyawt Paik fishing in Thandwe Township, including at Jate Taw ward, where 15 of 90 boats have suspended business operations, according to the Jate Taw Ward Kyawt Paik Fishing Entrepreneur Association.

Women who normally generate income working in dried fish manufacturing — one major facet of the Kyawt Paik fishing industry — say their source of income has dried up since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.

“I earned about K2,000 a day when I was working to sun-dry the fish and keep them in the evenings. If the Kyawt Paik fishing business is closed, we will be in trouble for our livelihoods,” said Daw Khin Than Naing, a worker involved in dried-fish processing in Thandwe Township.