KUCHING: Local wet market sellers, especially at Mile 7 Wet Market, are bracing for the start of the rainy season, a period that traditionally means fewer fish catches and tighter seafood supply.
With the monsoon now beginning to set in, vendors say they are already seeing signs of reduced availability, especially for popular fish varieties like kembung, tilapia and catfish among others, that rely on calmer waters for safe and predictable harvesting.
Many coastal communities rely on daily trips to maintain their supply chains and any disruption is immediately felt at the market. While supply often stabilises between storms, the most intense monsoon periods can significantly disrupt both fishing routines and market activity.
According to long-time vendor of 27 years at the wet market, Thian Choon Moi, the early weeks of the monsoon has already seen reduced amount and varieties of fish being sold.
What was seen at her stall were the reduced size of the normally average sized ikan kembung while bigger size of fishes are limited and usually sold out by the wee hours of the morning.
She said suppliers, who engaged in local fish trading, had already warned them of the monsoon season, meaning there would be less fish to catch and be supplied in view of the typically rough seas, making it harder for small-scale fishermen to head out.
“Fishermen and our suppliers are already cutting back their trips because the waves are getting stronger. When they catch less, we sell less and prices can start to creep up,” said Thian.
For May Li, Thian’s neighbour at the stall, with the rainy season now, they opted to have smaller displays and quicker sell-outs in recent days, especially for high-demand species such as mackerel, sardines and anchovies.
“Some of us have begun offering alternatives like farmed fish or frozen stock to make up for the shortfall, though these options don’t always satisfy customers who prefer fresh seafood.
“We just have to adapt, keep our stock moving and wait for better seas, which looks like probably after Chinese New Year or probably the first week of Ramadan next year. Then probably you will have better varieties of fishes,” she said.
Meanwhile, for Ah Ming at one of the marts in Mile 7, Nahmee Mart, amid the intensifying monsoon season, he is forced to rely heavily on frozen fish stocks as fresh supplies continue to dwindle.
“With fishermen making fewer trips due to unpredictable weather and dangerous sea conditions, the flow of fresh seafood has dropped sharply in recent weeks. As a result, frozen inventory, once kept primarily as a backup is now becoming the mainstay of our seafood section,” he said.
“We’re seeing our frozen stocks move faster than usual because customers still need their seafood, but the fresh supply just not coming, it’s scarce to find fresh fishes, prawns and others, like before. We used to have enough frozen fish to last weeks, but now even that reserve is shrinking,” he said.
He added, some days they get a small batch, some days nothing at all.
“We’re trying our best to stretch what we have, but if the rains continue like this, we may have to limit certain items,” he said.
With the monsoon expected to persist for several more weeks, and including the next three months (December until February) the sellers expect fluctuations to continue.
Still, traders remain hopeful that occasional clear-weather windows will help balance out the shortages.
“We go through this every year, we just have to adapt, keep our stock moving, and wait for better seas,” another vendor said.
