Fishermen in Dibba Al Fujairah have been banned from catching six species of fish to preserve local fish stock.
Five of the banned species are bedha (majarra), safi (streaked spine foot), biah (flathead mullet), sheri (spangled emperor) and hamour (thorny cheek grouper).
The numbers of these species have dropped considerably in the past few months due to overfishing, Sulaiman Rashid Al Khadeem, chairman of Dibba Al Fujairah Fishermen's Association, told Gulf News yesterday.
Fishermen have been issued a warning in this regard, he said.
"Some reckless and irresponsible fishermen are exhausting the local fish stock by catching only some kinds of fish which resulted in a drop of its numbers in our waters in the last few months," Al Khadeem said.
It was the duty of each fishermen's association to protect the fish stock, he said.
"Fishermen who are caught fishing or trading in one or all of these species will be penalised. We will be strictly monitoring fishing and trading in the markets," Al Khadeem said.
The association has also banned fishing of a fish locally known as hams, and has ordered fishermen who catch the species to release it immediately.
Al Khadeem also asked fishermen to stick to the specifications approved by the association regarding fishing nets and gargeer (metal fishing traps).
"We ask the fishermen to be fully committed to the federal law No 23 for 1999," he said. "The association and other related authorities will impose penalties on those violating the law which include revoking the fisherman's licence or shutting down his shop at the fish market."
