The fish market in the Sharq district in central Kuwait City remained strikingly busy even as a war raged across the Arabian Gulf.
Stalls were packed with local and imported fish and shrimp, despite suspended air traffic and disrupted maritime routes after Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf.
The market’s resilience stems from two factors: Kuwait has secured safe fishing zones close to its shores, and traders have shifted to overland imports via Saudi Arabia and the UAE, replacing supplies that once arrived by sea from Iran and beyond.
“All types of fish are available and prices have dropped somewhat this week,” said customer Ahmed Sharaf while inspecting prized zubaidi, or silver pomfret. “A kilogram of large zubaidi is now between 17 and 19 dinars [$55 to $61], down from 25 in recent weeks.”
Fish from Saudi Arabia and the UAE now arrive within 24 hours, according to traders, and often sell out on the same day amid strong demand from Kuwaitis and expatriates. Prices remain erratic: while the cost some species remains stable, for others, such as hamour, it has climbed to around 11 dinars per kilo.
Vendors say supply chains adapted quickly after the Iran war broke out at the end of February. “We receive shrimp daily by land from the UAE,” said one Bangladeshi seller, who sells about 40kg a day. Prices range from 5.5 dinars per kilo for superjumbo shrimp to 4 dinars for medium-sized, while smaller shrimp fetch 10 dinars for four kilos.
War on, nets full
Behind the market, boats line up at Sharq harbour, preparing for new fishing trips. Kuwait lies only tens of kilometres from Iran across the Gulf, and the conflict has seen US strikes on Iranian naval assets alongside Tehran’s disruption of regional shipping.
Yet fishing has not stopped. “We’ll head out this afternoon. Trips can last five days or more,” said an Egyptian fisherman boarding his boat. “We never stopped during the war. Whatever we catch goes straight to auction.”
Authorities have played a central role. The coastguard has designated safe fishing zones, allowing fleets to continue operating despite the security risks.
Abdullah Al Sarheed, head of the Kuwaiti Fishermen’s Union, said the sector has absorbed the shock. “Fuel is available, our crews are working and operations are continuing,” he explained. “We were affected slightly because many fishermen were abroad when the war began, but they will return by July and we’ll be back to full capacity.”
Kuwaiti fishermen currently supply tonnes of fish to the market daily, says the union, which operates 420 vessels.
Supply chains rerouted
The biggest shift has been logistical. Before the war, Kuwait imported fish from Iran, Pakistan and India by sea. Now, those flows have been rerouted overland through neighbouring Gulf states.
“There is some delay and higher transport cost, but supply is stable,” Mr Al Sarheed said. “Fish is available and volumes will increase.”
To ease pressure on households, the government has stepped in to subsidise essential goods, covering additional import costs caused by disrupted supply routes since the beginning of March.
The relative normality at the market comes after one of the most intense days of attacks on Kuwait by Iran, which has launched drones and missiles at all of its Gulf neighbours throughout the war.
Kuwait's Ministry of Defence says its military intercepted four ballistic missiles and 42 drones across Tuesday and Wednesday, some targeting oil facilities and critical infrastructure in the south. Since the start of the conflict, Kuwait says it has dealt with 845 drones, 354 ballistic missiles and 15 cruise missiles.
Yet by Wednesday night into Thursday, calm had returned amid a US-Iran ceasefire – and by morning, in Sharq, the fish market was back to business as usual.
However, Kuwait faced another drone attack on Thursday night that damaged a National Guard site and injured several personnel.
