EFFORTS to monitor fishing sites off Bahrain will be stepped up to maintain the kingdom’s marine stocks, it has emerged.
Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry Agriculture and Marine Resources Under-Secretary Dr Nabil Abu Al Fateh said the directorate is proceeding with its strategy to help professional fishermen and tighten control over maritime violations to preserve the fish stocks of the kingdom.
Assurance
He added that the directorate will continue its efforts in introducing initiatives aimed at promoting the fishing sector, which is an important pillar in achieving sustainable food security for Bahrain, given that the sea is an important source of food in the kingdom.
The assurance came during a meeting between Dr Abu Al Fateh and a delegation from the Professional Fishermen Association headed by Jassim Al Jeeran, to discuss the needs of the fishermen.
Present at the meeting was maritime control department director Khaled Al Shirawi.
“We spoke with the fishermen about their concerns and they are continuously looking for support as they were sponsored by Tamkeen before the pandemic but that has shifted towards aiding the private sector, so we discussed how we could help them,” Dr Abu Al Fateh told the GDN yesterday.
“They have asked us for aid for things such as training and helping preserve the areas where they do their fishing which is something we are keen on.
“These areas need more oversight and protection from overfishing to prevent them from being depleted and maintain sustainability.”
Dr Abu Al Fateh told the GDN that the directorate is keen to strengthen its partnership with the association and will be having regular meetings with them in order to make decisions together for the good of the sector.
Bahrain has been significantly affected by declining fish stock, caused by land reclamation, overfishing, increased number of fishing licences awarded and a 30 per cent reduction in fish stock in the GCC since the late 1990s.
The GDN repeatedly reported about incidents of illegal trawling such as the one from last month where four men aged 30 to 39 were arrested for flouting the ban on using trawling nets for fishing.
Maritime patrols first asked a fishing boat to stop for inspection but the captain refused.
The fishermen are facing legal action for using trawling nets and failing to switch on the Automatic Detection Device in the boat which had an unclear registration plate.
The month before that, three fishermen were taken into custody for seven days pending an investigation into allegations of illegal fishing using trawling nets.
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