Fish Prices in Qatar: Salmon, Kingfish, Hamour and How to Pick Fresh Fish
What fish costs per kilo in Qatar, from salmon and kingfish to sardines and tilapia, where to find today's offers and how to pick fresh fish.
By the Savefy Team
Fish prices in Qatar change with every flyer, so the most useful things to know are the price band each fish usually sits in and where to check today's price. Savefy collects the fish and seafood offers that hypermarkets such as Mark & Save, Safari Hypermarket, Paris Hypermarket and Family Food Centre post, and lists them next to the fish markets and fish shops in Doha. This guide explains what popular fish usually cost per kilo, why salmon costs several times more than tilapia, how the kingfish season affects prices, why hamour is hard to price, and how to tell fresh fish at the counter.
What Fish Costs in Qatar Per Kilo
The bands below come from the offer prices that hypermarkets post on Savefy. Shelf prices outside an offer are usually higher, and the exact price changes from shop to shop and from branch to branch. For the price today, check today's fish offers in Doha before you go.
| Fish | Usual offer price per kilo | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Salmon | QAR 40 and up | Imported. Watch for offers rather than paying the shelf price |
| Kingfish steaks | QAR 40 and up | Cheaper to buy a whole kingfish and ask for steaks |
| Sea bass and sea bream | QAR 30 to 40 | Mild white fish for grilling and baking |
| Whole kingfish | QAR 20 to 30 | Small fish cost less per kilo than medium ones |
| Prawns | QAR 15 to 25 | Often sold in 500 g packs, so double the pack price to compare |
| Black pomfret | QAR 15 to 25 | A favourite for frying whole |
| Squid | QAR 15 to 25 | Good for frying and curry |
| Safi | QAR 10 to 16 | Local catch can cost more than imported safi |
| Tuna and trevally (vatta) | QAR 10 to 11 | Good value for curry |
| Tilapia, mackerel and sardines | Under QAR 10 | The cheapest fresh fish on most flyers |
Two patterns are worth knowing. Imported fish is not always the expensive option: local safi caught off Qatar can cost more than safi imported from the UAE. And the same fish can cost different amounts at different branches of the same shop, because several hypermarkets publish separate flyers for each branch. Paris Hypermarket, for example, has run different prices at Al Attiyah, Al Khor and Al Wakrah.
Salmon Price in Qatar
Salmon sits at the top of the price list. On hypermarket offers it usually costs QAR 40 or more per kilo, above sea bass and sea bream, and several times the price of tilapia or sardines.
The reason is simple: salmon is a cold-water fish that isn't caught in the Gulf, so it reaches Qatar from abroad. The salmon on hypermarket flyers on Savefy has come from Norway. Not every shop puts salmon on offer, and not every week. Family Food Centre is one of the hypermarkets that has had Norwegian salmon on offer, so if you cook it often, look for salmon offers on Savefy rather than paying the shelf price. Compare the price per kilo of a whole side with ready-cut fillets too.
What to check: the flesh should be bright orange-pink and moist, with clean white fat lines, and it should spring back when you press it. Dull, dry edges or a strong smell mean it has been on the counter too long. The label should say where the fish is from and whether it is fresh or has been frozen.
Kingfish (Kanad) Prices and the Kingfish Season
Kingfish is one of the most popular fish in Qatar for frying and curry. On offer, whole kingfish usually costs QAR 20 to 30 per kilo, and small fish cost less per kilo than medium ones. Kingfish steaks can cost more than QAR 40 per kilo, because you only pay for the meat. When a whole fish is cleaned, the head, guts and bones go, so the weight you take home is less than the weight you paid for. Buying a whole kingfish and asking the counter to cut it is usually cheaper than buying steaks. Ask for steaks about 1 to 2 cm thick.
Kingfish prices also follow a yearly season. Every year Qatar's Ministry of Municipality bans fishing kingfish with gill nets during the breeding season, from mid-August into the autumn, and announces the exact dates each year (the ministry's announcement). During the ban, line fishing is still allowed and imported kingfish, often from the UAE, stays on sale. When the ban ends, net fishing restarts and more local kingfish comes back to the counters, so the weeks after the ban are a good time to look for kingfish offers at Doha's fish counters.
Hamour: Why Its Price Is Hard to Pin Down
Hamour (grouper) is one of the best-loved fish in Qatar, for grilling, frying and machboos. It is mostly sold by size at fish markets and fresh fish counters, and its price moves with the day's catch, so there is no single price to quote. You will also see it less often in hypermarket fish offers on Savefy than kingfish, tilapia or pomfret.
Before you buy hamour, ask for the price per kilo before cleaning, and check whether cleaning is charged. If the price is high that day, other white fish on offer usually cost much less: sea bream sits at QAR 30 to 40 per kilo and safi at QAR 10 to 16. Savefy also lists the main fish markets in Doha, including Umm Salal Central Market, with their hours and cleaning services, and fish shops such as Khalid Rashid Al Maslamani that sell the day's fresh catch.
The Cheapest Fish in Qatar
If you are cooking for a family on a budget, these fish are usually the cheapest on hypermarket flyers:
Sardines: usually under QAR 10 per kilo. Mark & Save and Family Food Centre have both had them on offer.
Tilapia: usually under QAR 10 per kilo, and both Safari Hypermarket and Paris Hypermarket have had it on offer.
Mackerel and horse mackerel: usually under QAR 10 per kilo.
Tuna and trevally (vatta): around QAR 10 to 11 per kilo.
Imported safi: around QAR 10 to 11 per kilo, less than local safi.
Small oily fish like sardines and mackerel cook quickly and suit frying and curry. Tilapia has a mild taste, which makes it an easy choice for family meals. To see which of these are on offer near you, compare the fresh fish offers across Qatar.
How to Pick Fresh Fish at the Counter
A quick look tells you most of what you need. The eyes should be clear and bulging, not cloudy or sunken. The gills should be bright red, not brown. The flesh should spring back when pressed, the skin should be shiny with the scales tight, and the fish should smell of the sea, not "fishy". Savefy's fish market page has the full 60-second check.
A few things are specific to hypermarket counters:
Read the label. It shows the country of origin (UAE, Oman, KSA, Norway and so on) and the price per kilo. Offer prices often apply to one size, such as "medium", so check that the fish in front of you is the one on the flyer.
Weigh before cleaning. You pay for the whole fish. Ask the staff to weigh it first, so you know what you are paying for before it is cleaned and cut.
Go early on the first day. Fish offers are short, often two or three days, and the best fish goes first.
Check the offer dates. Some fish prices last one day only, such as Safari Hypermarket's daily fish offers.
When Fish Is Cheapest in Qatar
Fish offers on hypermarket flyers usually start mid-week, on Wednesday or Thursday, and run over the weekend, often for just two or three days. Mark & Save has run fresh fish festivals, Paris Hypermarket has published separate flyers for its branches, and Safari Hypermarket has run one-day fish prices. Our guide to when hypermarket offers start in Qatar explains the weekly pattern, and sale seasons in Qatar covers the bigger yearly drops.
For kingfish, the time to watch is the end of the yearly ban, when net fishing restarts. While you plan the week's shopping, also check hypermarket offers in Doha, fresh chicken offers and mutton and beef offers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is salmon per kg in Qatar?
On hypermarket offers, salmon usually costs QAR 40 or more per kilo, which makes it the most expensive fresh fish on most flyers. Prices change with each offer, so check the Fish Market page on Savefy for today's price.
How much is kingfish per kg in Qatar?
Whole kingfish usually costs QAR 20 to 30 per kilo on offer, and small fish cost less per kilo than medium ones. Kingfish steaks can cost more than QAR 40 per kilo.
When is the kingfish ban in Qatar?
Every year from mid-August into the autumn, during the breeding season. Fishing with gill nets is banned, line fishing is still allowed and imported kingfish stays on sale. The Ministry of Municipality announces the exact dates each year.
What is the cheapest fish in Qatar?
Sardines, tilapia and mackerel, which usually cost under QAR 10 per kilo on hypermarket offers, followed by tuna and trevally (vatta) at around QAR 10 to 11.
How much does hamour cost in Qatar?
There is no single price. Hamour is sold by size at fish markets and fresh fish counters, and the price changes with the day's catch. Ask for the price per kilo before it is cleaned, and compare it with the fish on offer on the Fish Market page.
How we checked: The price bands come from the fish and seafood offer prices that hypermarkets have posted on Savefy, including Mark & Save, Safari Hypermarket, Paris Hypermarket and Family Food Centre. They are offer prices per kilo; where a shop sold 500 g packs, we doubled the price. The kingfish ban comes from the Ministry of Municipality's announcement, reported by Qatar News Agency. Prices change with every offer, so check the shop's current offer on Savefy before you go.
