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During Christmas, people are looking to buy lots of meat, including pork, goat and chicken; but fish isn't as prominent on the menu.

Dawnetta White, who has been selling fish for 18 years in the Cross Roads Market in Kingston, told THE STAR that the overall demand for fish is weak.

"The demand nuh really out deh like Easter, but demand is there for snapper and parrot. People want the big fish dem, and a the big one dem we cannot get," she said.

To make matters worse, the limited fish on the market are now going for a higher price.

"We affi buy it fi $800 a pound wholesale and dat a di problem," she said. "Fish scarce man. I used to get fish from Clarendon, Lime Cay, all bout from the fisherman dem weh me buy from. I couldn't buy from a second buyer cause dem woulda tell me seh a $900 dem a sell it fah, and me woulda afi leave it. And because fish so scarce now, a dats why di fisherman dem a sell it fi more. Me have lion fish, snapper, parrot and the list goes on."

White says she's barely making a profit.

"So now, we afi a sell the fish dem fi $900. Just $100 profit ... because buy fi $800 and sell fi $900. Normally, the price used to be $650 and $700," she said. "Dat nuh reasonable, but we don't have no choice."

But White says she won't raise her price any higher - for her customers' sake.

"We afi do it because we want to satisfy our customers. We just have to appreciate whatever we get," she said.