Community considering market options for mud crabs, fish

Business

MARKETING options are being considered by villages in the Kiwaba and Manawete regions of the Community Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA) Trusts in the South Fly.
The focus is on the sale of mud crabs as well as fish and its by-products.
Chairman of the Tirere Village Women’s Social Issues Concern Group (WSICG) Rachel Aruma said her community participated in fishing activities daily.
She said for her village, most had left the main Tirere village and moved to Bamboo 2 because the fishing company operates there, making it easier for the villagers to sell their fresh catches.
“We spend so much to travel to Daru to sell fish and that is a burden for us. We don’t have cold storage to transport fish, we don’t have the fuel to travel long distances, leaving little to buy what we want,” Aruma said.
“The business here in our reach provides the basic economic services we need, and we have money to buy rice and other store goods right here. The money is in the water, the fish we catch we sell the same day to the buyer based at Bamboo two fishing camp. It is even a bonus for us, as the businessman not only buys the fish but its by-products like the air bag (bladder), which has a higher price than the fish.
Meanwhile, the Ok Tedi Development Foundation (OTDF) is collaborating with the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to develop business models for small-scale fisheries in Fly River communities.