ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - UAE Interact

168UNITED ARAB EMIRATES YEARBOOK 2006ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT169FISHERIESMarine and fisheries resources have always occupied an important place in theUAE and still do so today. Apart from supporting a traditional way of life that canbe traced back to the earliest known archaeological sites in the region some 7500years ago, these resources still provide an important source of income, food andrecreational opportunity for many residents. Typical of the global trend, and inresponse to a growing demand for fishery and marine products, the last threedecades have seen increased use of marine resources in the UAE. During thisperiod, the traditional commercial fishing sector has substantially invested inmodern fishing fleets, while a growing tourism industry has led to an increase inthe use of fisheries and marine resources for recreation.All this has inevitably led to concern regarding the sustainability of the use ofthe fisheries resources. In particular, questions pertaining to depletion of thefish stocks, habitat degradation, and over-fishing have been raised and fisherymanagement strategies are being put in place (see section on Environment andWildlife). A recently-completed report undertaken by EAD (previously ERWDA),in Abu Dhabi, in association with the UAE Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheriesand Australian/New Zealand consultants has highlighted some of these issues,including a catastrophic decline in some stocks of commercial fish species.Some of the key outputs of the marine resources survey, on which the reportwas based include information on species identification, a catalogue of all speciescaptured, and statistics such as length/frequency data and catch rates for thekey species. This work was carried out from a research vessel that traversed thecoastal waters of the UAE undertaking habitat mapping and sampling.A variety of fish are caught in the UAE, including sharks and rays, catfish,lizardfish, flatheads, groupers, jacks, mojarras/silver-biddies, angelfish, grunts,parrotfish, wrasses, rabbitfish, barracudas, ponyfish, snappers, threadfin bream,emperors, seabream, goatfish, turbots, flounders and tonguesoles. A combinationof over-exploitation and degradation of the environment has been a major causeof the overall decline in fish stocks in the area. Environmental degradationincludes temporary or permanent elimination of important nursery areas byland reclamation in coastal areas, and increased marine pollution by dischargeof liquid and solid wastes into the marine environment.The dhow-based fishery, responsible for the majority of commercial fishing inUAE waters, comprises mostly small commercial operations. Wooden dhowsare usually about 12 to 20 metres in length, powered by 150 to 300 horsepowerinboard diesel engines. Dhows typically fish with baited basket traps (gargour,plural garagir), trawls, hook and line and trolling lines. Drift nets used to be adominant fishing method, especially for large pelagic species. These nets, knownas al-hayali, are now banned by law, except in tightly-regulated circumstances.Trap fishing using garagir is the most common fishing method, with over 80 percent of landed fish caught in these traps. Formerly made from interwoven palmfronds, the traps are now manufactured from galvanised steel wire of 1 to 1.5millimetres thickness, imported from the Far East. Garagir are usually made asdome-shaped traps with a base diameter of between 1 to 3 metres supported byreinforced steel bars and a funnel-like entrance. These traps are usually set inthe afternoon and the fish are retrieved after three or four days in the earlymorning. A variety of baits are used inside the traps, including green algae, grounddry fish, dead fish and bread. They mostly comprise groupers (hamour), emperors(shaeri) and grunts together with snappers, sea bream, parrotfish and rabbitfish.Gillnets (al-liekh) are often set on the seabed. They catch a variety of fish,including grunts, sea bream, emperors, goatfish, rabbitfish, pomfrets and others.Fishing by hook and line (hadaq) is specifically used for the capture of groupers,cobias, jacks/trevallies, grunts, emperors, sea bream and Spanish mackerel. Longlines(manshalla), which may have 10 to 20 extra smaller lines and hooks, aresometimes used. These are good for catching requiem sharks and groupers.Apart from gillnets, two other types of fishing nets are used. Beach seines (yaroof)can be up to 40 metres or more in length. One end of the seine is moved rapidlyfrom the shore in a wide arc in an effort to surround fish, both ends of the seinethen being pulled to shore. Fishing by this method remains fairly common onthe UAE’s East Coast, and can be seen, for example, at Fujairah and Dibba, thefishermen often being accompanied by large flocks of feeding gulls and terns.Speedboats with outboard motors and four-wheel drive vehicles are used todayto pull these seine nets to the shore, but traditionally this was done by a largegroup of men. This method was especially good at catching mojarras/silver-biddies,flathead mullets and rabbitfish. Many other fish are also caught, including smallneedlefish and jacks/trevallies.The bell-shaped cast net (salieya), which has small weights around its base tomake it sink, is also used at times of year when fish such as the Indian oilsardine and flathead mullets are abundant in shallow inshore waters.Fixed shore traps or hadrah were traditionally built by driving a row of palmfronds and wooden stakes but are now made with steel or iron poles and wiremesh or nylon netting. In the UAE, these traps are used during the summermonths, to catch the blackspot snapper, needlefish, jacks/trevallies, sea bream,mullets, barracuda and rabbitfish and, occasionally, other bottom species.Recreational fishing in the region is growing rapidly and is largely carried outfrom small motorboats operating relatively close to shore. A licensing system forall recreational fishing, whether from boats or from the shore, was introduced inthe Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2002, as a by-law under Federal Law No. 23 for 1999on Exploitation, Protection and Development of Marine Bio-Resources. The licencesfor recreational fishing allow only two methods, handline and rod and reel. All