MORE than 50 fishermen at the Bagan Sg Besar fishing village in Sabak Bernam, Selangor have tested positive for Covid-19 and have stopped work, which would see the price of seafood escalate in the Klang Valley and surrounding states, said industry players.

Locals said the number of cases might go up in the coming days following mass testing in the village and nearby Sekinchan, keeping the fishing boats at the docks longer.

With boats not going out to fish for at least two weeks or so, industry experts said this will drive up the price of fish.

On Wednesday, news broke that Covid-19 cases were detected among the fishermen working in the village. Subsequently, more than 1,000 people, including fishing boat owners, employees and villagers got tested for the virus.

So far, test results showed that 50 individuals, a majority of whom are foreign workers, as well as two locals, were positive.

Malaysia Fish Industry General Association president Chia Tian Hee told The Malaysian Insight that fishermen in Sekinchan would also get tested as Bagan Sg Besar was close by.

He said the Sekinchan fishermen would cooperate with the Health Ministry (MoH) to observe Covid-19 standard operating procedure while the authorities would prevent outsiders from visiting both areas.

“There are about 200 fishing boats in Sekinchan and 100 in Bagan Sg Besar. The main catch in Bagan Sg Besar is ikan kembung (Indian mackerel),” Chia said.

He said the source of the virus was still unknown but of late, he said, there had been many unfamiliar vehicles entering both areas.

To prevent the virus from spreading, locals have been asked to report any unfamiliar vehicles in the area.

Chia said fishermen in Sekinchan were now working closely to ensure there is no further outbreak in the area.

Bagan Sg Besar village head Sia Chock Shung, meanwhile, said that on Wednesday, two foreign workers working on a fishing boat came down with fever.

The boat owner took them to get tested and when the results came back positive, it was reported to the village health bureau.

“After that incident, all fishermen and foreign workers went to the government hospital for screening. Of the 1,000 people tested, so far 50 were found to be positive.

“We are still waiting for the rest of the results and I believe the number of cases will go up,” Sia said.

He said that MoH has been notified of the situation and has advised those who tested negative the first round to get tested again in a week just to be sure.

“The village health bureau has tagged boat owners and workers with a white bracelet to make sure that they isolate themselves.”

When other villagers found out there was an outbreak among the fishermen, Sia said they took it upon themselves to stay indoors while shops temporarily closed.

“The villagers are disciplined. So far, no elected representative has offered us any assistance.”

Seafood supply affected

Chia said the two-week suspension on fishing would inadvertently affect the supply of fish locally, adding that outbreaks at the Kuantan fishing port and the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market saw seafood prices go up by 10%.

“The price of ikan kembung, Chinese pomfret and ikan tenggiri (horse mackerel) has gone up.”

He said local fishermen have been facing a shortage of manpower and the frequency at which they go out to sea has been reduced because of this.

There used to be five people working in a boat, but now it is down to four.

“Fortunately for the lockdown, people are not spending a lot of money and restaurants are not operating normally so there is less demand for seafood.

“Otherwise, the prices would go up more than 10% as there is not enough supply,” Chia said.

Sing Kian Hock, president of the KL How Seng Fish Wholesaler Association, said the number of customers going to the market to purchase seafood has gone down by 30%, leaving vendors with losses of 20 to 30%.

He too said the industry is facing a shortage in manpower, which has affected the volume of catch, leading wholesalers to turn to importers from Indonesia and Thailand.

“However, due to the recent spike in cases, Indonesia has reduced the amount of seafood it catches and exports.” – July 25, 2021.