They allege that nearly 50 stalls at the market are monopolized by a limited number of people. The recently formed Cooperative Society for Fishermen is behind the calls to end the practices that allow some individuals to occupy stalls indefinitely and lease them out at regular
intervals.
Saudi fishers and fishmongers have also complained that foreign vendors are putting a downward pressure on prices by selling cheaper imported seafood and causing stall rents to rise.
Ameen Abdul Jawad, a member of the Cooperative Society for Fishermen and chairman of the Fishermen’s Committee at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said leasing of these stalls are still based on a lottery system undertaken by about 40 individuals at Jeddah’s main fish market.
“They still monopolize these stalls at the expense of a large number of traders and fishermen,” he said, adding that they were seeking urgent intervention of the municipal authorities to end this practice.
The central fish market in downtown Jeddah supports about 3,000 Saudi fishers. “These fishermen want to be protected from monopoly and exploitation and seek fair prices for their products,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hussein Baaqeel, chairman of Jeddah Municipal Council, confirmed to Arab News that the council had received some complaints from members of the cooperative society as well as from students of the Marine Fishing Institute, asking to stop the practice of using the lottery system to lease out stalls at the market.
