Several fishermen from Kampung Kempadang near Kuantan were able to net 420kg of ‘kembung’ (mackerel) in the one hour they were at sea today, an unusual bounty compared to the 30kg to 50kg they land after being out at sea for a whole day.    

“We were shocked at the amount of catch in one hour,” one of them, Omar Baru, 54, told reporters at the village where a carnival atmosphere prevailed, with villagers and people from elsewhere rushing to buy the fish.   

The fishermen sold the catch for RM10 per kg, lower than the RM12 price at wet markets in Kuantan.   

Two other fishermen, brothers Mohd Hafizan Abdul Jalil, 22, and Ahmad Firdaus, 18, said they had set out to sea at 6.30am and cast their net when they were about 12 kilometres from shore, at the place where they usually fished.  

“It was our good fortune that we landed the huge catch,” said Ahmad Firdaus.

- Bernama