A “digital platform” for selling fish from fishermen to buyers directly, without intermediaries

The Fujairah Fishermen’s Association has developed a new “digital platform” specialized in documenting the fish catch of citizen fishermen, and helping them sell their products directly to buyers without intermediaries.

The association told Emirates Today that the project aims to attract more than 100 fishermen during the coming period, and to open additional marketing outlets for them, expanding the buyer base and enhancing competition for the local product, in a step that contributes to improving financial returns and reducing the dominance of intermediaries over part of the fish trading and pricing movement, by providing a direct sales channel linking the fisherman and the buyer within a more transparent digital system.

A number of fishermen confirmed that the platform may constitute a shift in the fish marketing mechanism, by opening direct sales channels to buyers, thus reducing reliance on intermediaries.

In detail, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fujairah Fishermen’s Association, Mahmoud Hassan Suleiman Al Ali, told “Emirates Today” that the association signed a memorandum of understanding with the “Seafood Market” company, with the support of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, to launch a digital platform specialized in documenting and tracking fish harvests and marketing them electronically, in a move aimed at opening direct sales channels to citizen fishermen, and expanding the base of buyers, giving them a greater opportunity to obtain fair prices for their catch, away from total reliance on traditional marketing channels only.

He added that the project establishes an integrated digital system that documents the types of fish, their quantities, sizes, and fishing seasons, and tracks the movement of the product from the time the fishing boat leaves the port until it reaches the final buyer, providing an accurate database that supports the sustainability of fish wealth and the development of the sector in the future. He stressed that the platform came in response to marketing challenges that fishermen have been facing for years, as it provides an additional sales channel for the local fish harvest, within an organized digital system that brings together fishermen, restaurants, hotels, companies, and buyers in one platform.

Regarding the procedures for dealing with the platform, Al Ali explained that the fisherman begins by registering in the system, so that he has a special digital file linked to his data and fishing operations. Then, when he leaves the port, he records the start date of the fishing trip, and records the time of his return upon his arrival at the port, which allows documenting the duration of the trip and determining the timing of fishing accurately, and gives buyers a clear indication of the newness of the product, its quality, and its level of freshness.

He added that after the fish harvest is unloaded at the port, it is delivered to a designated receiving site, where the operating company enters its data into the platform and presents it directly to buyers, so that buying and selling operations begin electronically according to a mechanism that depends on supply and demand and allows for more transparent and fair pricing.

He pointed out that after completing the sale process, the fish moves to the processing stages according to the buyer’s requirements, including cleaning, cutting, packaging, and delivery, while the fisherman can follow all stages of trading his catch through the platform, starting from displaying the product for sale, through the purchase and processing process, all the way to delivering the order and receiving its financial value, which provides a high level of transparency and gives him a direct view of the sales movement and the return achieved from his production. He noted that the “Seafood Market” company will take care of the operational and logistical aspects associated with the platform, including The products are received from the fishermen, prepared, cleaned, cut, packaged, and delivered to the requesting parties, while the sales value is collected electronically through the platform and deposited to the fishermen through the association.

He said that a technical team and employees have been allocated to assist senior citizen fishermen in entering data, using the application, and completing sales procedures.

He added that the platform will limit the impact of practices that lead to lowering the price of fish when purchased from fishermen, by creating an additional sales channel that allows buyers to compete for the product in a more fair and transparent manner.

He pointed out that most fishermen showed great enthusiasm for the project, expecting about 100 fishermen to register in the first phase at the emirate level, pointing out that Fujairah is one of the first entities to take the initiative to implement this system at the state level.

He revealed that work on the project took about eight months, after the idea was presented during the Blue Economy Forum in Abu Dhabi, in the presence of the Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Dr. Amna Al-Dahhak, and representatives of the authorities concerned with the maritime sector.

He pointed out that some local species were not previously included in the platform’s database, and were added during the development stages.

He explained that among these species are yellowfin tuna and mahi mahi, which are among the most sought-after species globally, and Fujairah enjoys a seasonal abundance of them.

Al Ali expected that mid-July will witness the start of the tuna and mahi mahi fishing season, expressing his optimism that the platform will open new marketing horizons for these species, which enjoy high demand in global markets, thus contributing to enhancing their market value and achieving better returns for fishermen commensurate with the volume of demand and quality for them.

He added that Mahi Mahi fish was sold in some seasons for about 15 dirhams per manna (four kilograms), while he is expected to achieve prices through the platform of no less than 40 dirhams per manna during the next season, and may exceed that depending on the size of the demand.

He pointed out that some fishermen catch between 120 and 250 million migratory fish daily during the abundant season, which makes any improvement in prices directly reflected in their income and financial returns.

Important step

For his part, Noukhadha Eid Ahmed Suleiman Al Ali said that the platform represents a real opportunity that fishermen have been waiting for for years, expressing his hope that it will contribute to achieving fairer prices for their efforts on the fishing trip.

He added that fishermen face challenges related to pricing mechanisms within markets.

He stressed that the platform represents an important step in the interest of citizen fishermen, as it allows them to deliver their products directly to buyers, appreciating the efforts made by the Fujairah Fishermen’s Association to develop the project and work on its implementation.

Fair prices

In turn, the fisherman, Haitham Yousef Ibrahim Al Balushi, said that the new platform gives fishermen a better opportunity to obtain fair prices for their catch, by offering their product to a larger number of buyers directly, instead of relying on intermediary merchants.

He added that he had recently brought a large quantity of amphibious fish to the market, and initially received an offer to buy them at a price of 38 dirhams per manna, before receiving another offer at 45 dirhams per manna. Then the price rose the next day to 47 dirhams per manna, even though the product itself did not change, which reflects the size of the price discrepancy between buyers.

He explained that these differences directly affect the fisherman’s income, especially when the quantities are large, pointing out that the difference of a few dirhams in the price of manna may be reflected in the fisherman’s total financial return at the end of the day.

He pointed out that the platform will allow all buyers to view the available quantities of fish directly, which will enhance competition for the local product and expand the circle of demand for it, instead of restricting purchases to a limited range of buyers who control part of the pricing movement in the market.

He stressed that the success of the platform in attracting buyers from inside and outside the country will directly benefit citizen fishermen, by providing a broader market for their products, and linking them to the actual demand for different types of fish.

Enhance competition

In addition, fisherman Khalfan Hassan Saeed Suleiman Al Nuaimi said that the new platform will contribute to controlling fish prices for the benefit of fishermen, by enhancing competition among buyers, indicating that the market will become more active compared to the current situation, which witnesses a limited disparity in prices between some merchants. He added that the fisherman bears large costs, including fuel, workers, and long working hours at sea, which makes obtaining a fair price necessary to compensate for these expenses.

He pointed out that the demand for fresh fish increases during the seasons and holidays, stressing that increasing competition among buyers through the platform will reflect positively on the income of fishermen and push towards a more fair and transparent market.