Abu Dhabi (Etihad)
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, representative of the ruler in the Al Dhafra region and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, praised the commitment of fishermen and their effective role in implementing the decisions and measures related to fishing taken by the authority to protect fish stocks, which contributed significantly to limiting the effects of overfishing on The marine environment is achieving an improvement in the “sustainable fishing index” for the third year in a row, as the index increased from 8.9% in 2018 to 62.3% at the end of 2021.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan indicated that the authority would not have achieved the achievements it has made in the field of protecting marine resources without fruitful cooperation with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and its strategic partners in the framework of comprehensive efforts to protect fish stocks, preserve the marine environment and its natural resources, and achieve sustainability in this. The sector that our ancestors preserved so that we can enjoy the goodness of our good land and our cultural and natural heritage, which we must preserve so that our future generations can enjoy it.”
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan added: “Because of the overexploitation of fisheries and the sharp depletion of fish wealth, the fishing sector in the emirate was under pressure, which led to the reduction of stocks of the main commercial species to unsustainable levels, according to global rates, This required the implementation of a set of international procedures and standards for the management of fisheries in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which today succeeded in achieving remarkable results that were reflected in the performance indicators of fisheries, within the framework of the ambitious plan set by the Authority with its relevant partners to transform the stock from a state of overexploitation to sustainable use. ».
His Highness said: “The measures taken by the authority in response to population growth and the growing demand for fish, which has led to increased pressures on fish resources, will contribute to enabling fish stocks to recover in the long term, and provide an opportunity for at least 70% of fish resources to recover sustainably by 2030. Noting that the increase of the sustainable fishing index to 62.3% indicates that the administrative measures implemented in the fisheries are moving in the right direction for the recovery of fish stocks by 2030.
fish stock
Dr. Sheikha Salem Al-Tahri, Secretary-General of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, said: “And guided by the comprehensive assessments and scientific studies of fish resources carried out by the Environment Agency and other concerned parties during the past years, a set of globally approved procedures have been developed and implemented in cooperation with partners to manage the fish stock. These efforts have resulted in the establishment of several marine reserves, the introduction and application of a system for licensing commercial and recreational fisheries, and the regulation of the use of fishing equipment, in addition to implementing a seasonal ban to protect fish during their breeding seasons, and setting a minimum size of fish that can be caught for some major species, in addition to Ban unsustainable fishing methods.
She pointed out that, “Since 2001, the authority has been monitoring the state of fish stocks according to two basic indicators of sustainability, the first of which is the “average relative size of adult fish” (SBR) index (which is an indication of the size of the adult fish stock) for major benthic species when compared to the size of fish biomass. untapped. This includes groupers, pilgrims, and brushes. The second indicator is the “sustainable fishing index”, which describes the percentage of the crop that consists of species that are exploited in a sustainable way.
Al Dhaheri said: “With regard to the “sustainable fishing index”, the authority’s data revealed a noticeable increase within a short period of time from the application of measures and procedures related to fishing, reaching 62.3% at the end of 2021, where the indicator was calculated in 2021 by evaluating a total of 32 In kind, it represents 98.4% of landings in 2021.”
Index improvement
She stated that the authority’s data revealed an improvement in the “percentage of average mature stock” index, which determines the proportion of the stock volume of 30 main commercial types, compared to the size of its untapped stock. The index was calculated in 2021 by evaluating a total of 30 benthic and pelagic fish, representing 95.9% of landings in 2021. Progress towards increasing the average stock size of 8.6% in 2019 to 34% in 2021 was also measured.
It is noteworthy that the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi recorded a remarkable improvement in the state of fish stocks during 2021 for some of the main commercial fish species in the waters of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The percentage of the average mature stock of Badah fish increased from 40% in 2015 to 62.5% in 2021, while the percentage of grouper fish increased from 15.8% in 2020 to 20.5% in 2021. The percentage of kapt fish also increased from 18.8% in In 2018, to 26.9% in 2021. The percentage of mature stock of Okla fish increased from 64.8% in 2014 to 67.8% in 2021, and the percentage of Nasir fish increased from 35.8% in 2018 to 48.5% in 2021.
In view of the recent demand for fishing for some other commercial species, during the year 2021, the authority included two types of fish for the first time in the study of evaluating the fish stock, which are field fish and Aifa fish, and the results showed that the stock of these fish is within the limits of sustainable exploitation.
It is expected that these indicators will rise in the coming years if the existing measures are continued, in particular the ban on fishing with gargoyles, where three main species are targeted, including grouper, shaari, and farsh mainly through this type of fishing equipment, in addition to the decision to prevent fishing using The nets in the waters of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
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