Hamed Al Rahoomi, Consultant to the Dubai Fisherman Association and ex-chairman of the Fishermen's Cooperation, talks to Gulf News.
Gulf News: What is your role as a consultant?
Al Rahoomi: When new decisions are made, I'm called upon to advise and see how this will affect the fishermen. I'm a fisherman. I am the son of a fisherman. I know the market.
I know the fishermen who fished with my father and my grandfather. I work with the government and we have to be able to say that these rules were made by people who know about fishing.
Are these rules easy to implement?
In the past fishermen didn't have a GPS, a winch, engines, water pumps or any helpers to pull up nets. Their boats were affected by salt and sun, it was a lot of repairs. They didn't have weather forecasters and they needed good knowledge of the sea and of the coast.
If water filled the boat they had to scoop it out themselves. They worked like this for 40 years. Today they might have a GPS or a fiberglass boat but they are old and they are still fishing because it is too late to do anything else.
They live in their memories. I try to work out how they feel. Often they complain and I have to decide who is right with this law, the government or the fisherman?
What are the licensing laws? Can anybody go out and fish?
We had some problems in the past because all boats have to have fisherman from the UAE on board, but some UAE businessmen didn't want to go to sea so they signed the licence, made some money but never went fishing - 99 per cent of boats were going out without local men.
There were no regulations, the boats were using bad fishing methods and they cleared the sea of fish. It encouraged smuggling as well.
We had to pull about 70 per cent of people out. The sea for us, the real fishermen, is not secondary, it is our priority. Our salary comes from the sea. Now if you are UAE national and have a licence you have to go to sea, this is the law.
How many licensed fishing boats are there in the UAE?
Eight years ago, before the law, we had 3,500 fishing boats just in Dubai. Now there are 5,000 in all of the UAE and about 850 to 900 are in Dubai.
We are not issuing any more licences. Some people can sell their license if they decide they cannot do it or they are not successful so we are still playing with the same number.
Very old fishermen who cannot fish anymore and who do not receive any retirement money are allowed to appoint an ‘in-charge' in their place. That way they still get an income.
How has the law helped the fishing community and the ocean's fish stock?
It has reduced the number of boats, the number of people going out and reduced the amount of rubbish left behind. Directly or indirectly, reducing all this means there are 70 per cent fewer cages in the sea and this has to be a good thing.
Are you worried about fish being disturbed by offshore projects?
All these projects are affecting the fish at the moment with the dredging but in the long run, the breakwaters will help secure fish eggs and repopulate the area.
But there needs to be regulations so the area is protected and no one is allowed to fish there. The fish will grow up and leave and this is better for the fishermen.
