Dubai: Sixty-four thousand farmed fish have been released into UAE mangroves along the Arabian Gulf so far this year to boost fish stocks and increase the country's food security.
The Ministry of Environment and Water's Marine Resources Research Centre farms several varieties of fish, including the orange-spotted grouper, or hammour, and release them as fingerlings annually.
Marine Research Centre Acting Director Eisa Abdul Karim Yafi'i said total of 6,245 fish were released in Abu Dhabi, 1,600 in Dubai, 6,174 in Sharjah, 29,460 in Umm Al Quwain, 10,382 in Ajman, 3,750 in Fujairah and 6,389 in Ras Al Khaimah.
This represented about 50 per cent of the total 2010 target, he said.
"The centre is in the process of releasing the remainder of the various fish species that have been cultivated and produced," he said.
Under a strategy to achieve food security, the Ministry of Environment and Water is promoting sustainable fishing, and the breeding of economically important species to boost fishing practices, he said.
The UAE's fishing catch has declined in the past decade and is now estimated at about 90,000 metric tons per year, down from 118,000 metric tonnes a year in 1999.
Against a decreasing annual catch there has been an increased domestic consumption and a growth in fish processing for export.
As a result the UAE been relying increasingly on importing fresh and frozen fish for processing.
The Emirates Wildlife Society in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature said it had categorised 19 common fish including the orange-spotted grouper known as hammour, snappers and golden trevally available at most markets into three colour-coded lists of red, orange and green.
The codes indicated the over-fished species to avoid, species that were a better choice, and sustainable fish populations that had not been over exploited by fishermen.
Yafi'i called on consumers and fishermen to collaborate with the ministry to protect the fish stocks.
