MIRI: The shrimp (bubuk) season is back, giving fishermen the chance to earn a side income, while residents in Miri catch their own shrimps on weekends.
FRESH FROM THE SEA: Dewi (second left) sells shrimps to customers.
Full and part time fishermen can be seen at beaches in Miri, bringing their nets known as ‘pakak’ to catch the tiny creatures that they turn into ‘cencaluk’ (salted shrimp) or ‘belacan’ (shrimp paste).
Housewife Dewi Johari Met who was met at one of the gerai along Lutong-Kuala Baram road said the shrimp season, lasting from a few weeks to a month, was a time for her family to boost their income. She is selling shrimps at RM7 to RM8 per kg at her stall.
“I can make a few hundred ringgit per day from selling shrimps that my husband caught as buyers from as far as Miri city and Brunei are ready to buy them in bulk,” Dewi told The Borneo Post yesterday afternoon.
The shrimp season, especially in the month of February or March, brings cheer to fishermen.
“This is the time when I come and help my husband to sell as many trays as possible to earn additional money for my family,” she added.
A fisherman from Kuala Baram, Noh Embob said he and other fishermen in Kuala Baram and Lutong had been looking forward to the ‘bubuk’ season as their stock of belacan had sold out.
“I go out to sea early in the morning from Kampung Muhibbah, Kuala Baram and bring the catch to the stall in Kuala Baram for customers to buy,” he said.
Noh and his relatives scout for good locations to catch the shrimps in bulk for sale to eagerly waiting middlemen.
Housewife Tini Towo who was met at a stall near Kampung Batu Satu said belacan made from the shrimp they catch or buy would quickly find its way to the tamu to be sold for up to RM35 per kg.
It enables her husband to earn RM600 to RM800 on a good day.
In Miri wet market, shrimps sold at a higher price of RM8 to RM10 per kg are snapped up like hot cakes.