Squid fishing season starts in Taninthayi

The closed season of catching squid during the rainy season has ended. The fishing activity resumes in Taninthayi Region.
The high fuel oil price resulted in additional costs in catching squid compared to the previous years. The squid businesses are relying solely on Thailand, said the businesspersons.
“It is normal that the fishing starts in mid-October after Thadingyut Festival. Most vessels off to the coast for catching squid are quite small. The hike in fuel oil prices incurs high input cost,” said U Min Tun, chair of Myeik District Squid Entrepreneurs Association.
The offshore vessels in catching squid cost approximately K15 to 20 million, while the inshore vessels cost K5million to 7 million. The diesel price has tripled this year. Before the pandemic, Chinese traders came to Myeik to purchase squids. At present, the market relies only on Thailand.
“If we can send the squids to Mawtaung via Myeik without processing in the cold storage facility, it will save some cost. The processing cost at the cold storage facility in Myeik is around K500 per kilo while it costs only K150 in Yangon. When the foreign enterprises invest in the region, it will bring about many benefits to the region,” said U Win Aung, vice-chair of the association.
It normally takes 23 days for offshore squid vessels. There are about 300 offshore squid vessels and 1,000 inshore vessels.—Khaing Htoo (Myeik IPRD)/GNLM