SINGARAJA ~ Rough seas in Buleleng have caused a 50- to 75-percent rise in fish prices, an official said this week.

According to local fish sellers, the shortage of fish and the high prices have caused many sellers to temporarily close their businesses.

“People don’t want to pay the higher prices, even though we have had to pay high prices for the fish, so we have no way to make a profit, seller Luh Mangku from Anturan said.

She said the normal price of Rp200,000 (US$16.80) per box of fish had risen to Rp350,000.

She said that because fish supplies were so low in Buleleng, some sellers had been traveling to other regencies to buy fish, adding to costs and causing buyers to question the freshness of the product.