The shrimp harvest season began in the Eastern Province on Aug. 1 and the Dammam, Qatif and Jubail municipal fish markets have for the past five days been crowded with customers seeking out the tasty crustaceans. Boats are bringing tons of shrimps to the province's wholesale markets and prices have plummeted to SR10 per kg, with a kilo of the larger varieties going for SR15–20. Ali Hassan, a fisherman in Qatif, said that “most people buy medium-sized shrimps, whereas the jumbo-sized are sought after by exporters, hotels and supermarkets.” He added that there are usually seven jumbo shrimp in one kilo. In Qatif's wholesale fish market, fish exporters await the daily catch from the sea with their freezer trucks, and in Dammam, shrimp lovers are buying 10 to 15 kgs to keep in their home freezers. Ibrahim Hajri, a Saudi shrimp lover, said, “This is my season. I was eagerly awaiting the shrimp harvest season and from today onwards I will eat shrimps daily with soup, rice, and macaroni and, of course, fried rice. Local shrimps have not been available since January and I could not afford the ones that were in the market.” Earlier shrimps were selling for SR 30–40 per kg depending on the size. Hotels and restaurants in the Eastern Province are adding the delicious crustaceans to their menus and five-star hotels are providing their customers with special dishes featuring jumbo-sized shrimps. Saudi Gazette saw expatriates from the Philippines, Egypt, India and Sri Lanka purchasing ten or more kilos at a time as vendors give discounted rates to purchases or more than ten kilos. One fisherman said, “The six-month ban on catching shrimp has been proved to be a big success in allowing shrimp to breed and grow in the Kingdom's waters. The six-month breeding period really helped us because now we can catch big shrimp and get a good market price.” Wholesale traders, truck drivers, seafood hotel owners, fish cleaners, ice manufacturers and vendors are all working hard to meet increased customer demand. More than ten thousand fishermen work in this specialized sector in the Eastern Province and most of them are from the Jubail and Qatif areas. Many expatriates are still waiting for prices to be reduced to SR7 per kg before making any large purchases.
