The Executive Council adopts the strategy of regulating fishing for fisheries and banning fishing with fish

The Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai has approved the strategic plan to regulate fishing in the emirate, submitted by the Permanent Committee for Regulating Fishing Live Aquatic Resources in the Emirate of Dubai, which was formed in February by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council. Al-Madi, chaired by Major General Pilot Ahmed Mohammed bin Thani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Dubai Fishermen Cooperative Society, and includes a work vision and strategic implementation mechanisms to preserve the marine wealth in the emirate, and to ensure their compliance with the provisions of federal legislation and ministerial decisions issued in the matter of protecting marine life, and limit violations that threaten the stock Fish wealth in the waters of the Emirate of Dubai.

The strategic plan includes developing an integrated system to monitor fishing practices, including control, permits, security and protection of marine wealth, developing a database, implementing plans for the sustainability of living marine resources in the emirate, determining the number of fishing boats, breeding seasons in different areas, and monitoring the implementation of the fishing ban. Proposing types and sizes of fish for which a decision is issued to ban fishing, and facilitating and simplifying the procedures for licensing craft fishing through a single window in cooperation with federal and local authorities.

The plan presented by the committee includes developing coral reef farming and artificial environments for fish breeding by protecting sensitive and affected habitats from fishing activities, enhancing biodiversity, providing shelter for young and adult fish, promoting artisanal and recreational fisheries, creating suitable diving areas, and promoting research and educational activities. .

The plan also mentioned banning net fishing until further notice due to its negative destructive impact on the fish stock, giving the stock an opportunity to recover to sustainable levels for future generations.

Based on the Executive Council's decision, the Dubai Fishermen's Cooperative Society will coordinate the financial compensation process for affected fishermen who use nets to fish during the ban period to reduce the social and economic impacts resulting from this decision.

rehabilitation programs

The "Living Aquatic Resources Fishing Regulation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai" seeks to develop rehabilitation programs that will contribute to ensuring the sustainability and development of marine wealth, such as rehabilitation programs for affected coastal environments, which aim to improve habitat quality, identify high-risk areas, and enhance the capacity of eligible environments to Survival and continuation of periodic monitoring of fish breeding environments, in addition to working on periodic field surveys in selected coastal environments with the aim of studying the distribution and reproduction of important local species of fish, and studying zooplankton and plants and the chemical and physical characteristics of these environments and the impact of these characteristics on the natural presence and reproduction of fish.

The committee also identified several programs for the rehabilitation of wildlife, such as the coral reef rehabilitation program, the seagrass environment rehabilitation program, and a feasibility study for the rehabilitation of the oyster reef environment.

Awareness campaigns and training programs

In addition, preparations are being made to launch a series of awareness campaigns to introduce the laws of protecting fisheries and the importance of preserving them, as well as the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of the marine environment from pollutants, especially plastic ones, the harms of using plastic nets and their risks to the environment, the definition of fishing tools specifications in accordance with the approved standards, and the importance of selling Fish through authorized sales outlets, fish transport routes, recreational fishing and pleasure boats.

The committee’s plan also includes launching specialized training programs for graduates and workers in the field of marine resources management, specialized workshops and programs to educate and train local fishermen and fishermen, and qualifying training courses for new artisanal fishermen in cooperation with the Dubai Fishermen Cooperative Society, in addition to establishing new partnerships with universities. and research bodies in the country to train and graduate national competencies specialized in the field of fisheries.

The state of water resources and wealth

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change had prepared a study that showed a decrease in fish stocks on the coasts of the UAE by about 88% during the years 1975 - 2011 as a result of the destruction of aquatic habitats and unsustainable fishing practices. Surveys conducted by Dubai Municipality during 2018-2019 showed that six types of the most important commercial fish are found in very small quantities in the coastal area of ​​the emirate, with their fishing continuing beyond sustainable levels. For example, Farsh, Grouper and Sheari are exposed to excessive consumption, as the stock volume of these species is only 7%, 12% and 13%, respectively, which means that more than 85% of the stock of these species are exposed to excessive depletion according to record levels in the region.

The formation of the permanent committee came with the aim of developing the necessary solutions to address the noticeable negative effects on fisheries, as the committee will prepare the general policy and strategic plans to preserve marine wealth, organize the practice of the fishing profession, report violators, identify fishing areas and permitted fishing methods, and develop an integrated system to control fisheries. fishing practices. This will require the application of precautionary measures to preserve marine wealth, which include placing requirements on fishing gear or the number of fishermen, and limiting or preventing the fishing of some types of fish.

The Permanent Committee for Regulating Fishing of Live Aquatic Resources was formed based on a decision issued by His Highness, the Crown Prince of Dubai last February, headed by Major General Ahmed Mohammed bin Thani, to ensure harmonization and integration of efforts to preserve marine wealth and protect the environment.

The committee includes in its membership representatives from a number of authorities, namely: the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Customs, Dubai Maritime City Authority, Dubai Fishermen's Cooperative Society, and the Vital Facilities and Coasts Protection Authority, in addition to two representatives of fishermen.

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