Manama: Around 50,000 hamour (grouper) fingerlings have been released in Qatar's waters, in an initiative to build-up depleted stocks of one of the most popular marine delicacies in the Arabian Gulf.
Qatar currently has enough supply of the fish to meet the needs of the people in the region, according to an official at the fisheries department of Ministry of Environment. However, officials are concerned that with the population increase, stocks may shrink.
"The fingerlings were released in Al Wakra and some fishing-restricted areas of Qatari waters, with a view to enriching fish storage in the country," Mohammad Mahmoud Flamarzi, Director of the Fisheries Development Department of the Ministry of Environment, said.
"This was done as the second phase of a five-year project being carried out in co-operation with Bahrain's Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife. As the first phase, we had released the same number of hamour fingerlings off the coast of Al Khor in July 2009," he said, quoted by The Peninsula.
The hamour fingerlings released this year weigh between 2.5 grams and eight grammes and the total cost of the 2010 phase was estimated at 200,000 Qatari riyals (Dh201,639), up from 170,000 riyals in 2009, he said
The fingerlings were imported from Bahrain on July 13 and 14 and were transported to Al Wakra and some protected areas, in the southern waters of Qatar, by the department. The fingerlings are expected to weigh between 700g and one kilogramme within one year.
In another step to increase fish stocks in Qatari waters, the department is planning to establish a research centre focusing on marine culturing and farming. A law was recently passed to establish a fisheries committee to introduce standards for establishing fish-farms.
The department has sought to regulate fishing through laws and legislations.
