Fishermen in Mukomuko Regency Harvest Beltfish, Get 50 Tons A Day

Beltfish/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - The Fisheries Service of Mukomuko Regency, Bengkulu, said that fishermen at Pantai Indah Mukomuko (PIM), Koto Jaya Village, Mukomuko City District, have been harvesting beltfish since the last week.

"Since this week, fishermen's catches have been quite good, one boat has reached one ton, if calculated it could reach 50 tons per day," said Head of the Capture Fisheries Division of the Mukomuko Regency Fisheries Service Warsiman in Mukomuko, Sunday.

He mentioned that there are more than 100 Pantai Indah Mukomuko fishing boats, almost 80 of which are actively at sea.

He said, there was one ship that got one ton per day, some only got 350 kilograms per day, but on average each ship got 700 kg per day.

The price of this beltfish, he said, depends on the size. The price of large fish is more expensive than small fish.

"The price of large-sized beltfish reaches IDR 30 thousand per kg because fish of this size are exported outside the region and small fish IDR 15 thousand per kg," he said.

He said some of the beltfish were packed in cardboard boxes to be sent to China. The boxes have been prepared by collectors who have fish warehouses in this area.

Regarding the weather conditions in the sea waters of this area since the last few days, he said, they have been good, but there are still big waves and strong winds.

"The weather in the sea waters of this area is not yet completely stable. But the weather is not as extreme as before," he said.

Fishermen at Mukomuko Indah Beach previously harvested pomfret fish. Fishermen in this area previously caught five tons of pomfret fish per day.

He stated that the harvest of pomfret fish was not only sold by fishermen to the local community, but also sold outside areas such as Bengkulu City and West Sumatra Province.

Meanwhile, the selling price of pomfret fish at local fishermen when the fish is abundant has now fallen from IDR 80 thousand per kilogram to IDR 50 - IDR 60 per kilogram.