Dubai: Dubai Municipality and Dubai Fishermen Co-operative Association signed an agreement that aims to enhance the Emiratisation process at the fish market in Deira.

The agreement will help improve the selling, buying as well as brokering activities at the fish market while ensuring transparency and accuracy in the dealings.

According to Major General Mohammad Saeed Al Marri, the president of Fishermen Co-operative Association, 650 to 700 tonness of fish enter the fish market on a daily basis, which is why it is important to organise the activities of the market.

“The brokers will be in charge of setting the price of the fish that will be sold between fishermen and fish sellers. They will also be in charge of inspecting the 200-300 types of fish available at the market. This agreement is not only about social responsibility but it about preserving a country’s wealth,” said Major General Al Marri.

The Fishermen Co-operative Association has already hired 27 brokers to help in unifying and organising the selling and buying process of fish, out of the 27 brokers, 16 were Emirati.

Al Marri said that the association aims to increase the number of Emirati brokers to 50 by the end of this year. Emirati’s interested in becoming brokers will get a monthly salary of Dh7,000 to Dh8,000 and will take two days off after each working day.

As part of the agreement the association will manage and control the broker activities and will make all kind of information related to the fish items, price, rules, and regulations available to the public to ensure transparency.

The association’s brokers will have an office located within the fish market to carry out their administrative and accounting activities which include submitting a quarterly report to Dubai Municipality that includes fish quantities and daily price rates. Their activities will take place from 2am to 8am and 3pm to 8pm daily.

The first phase of the agreement will include hiring 20 Emiratis to supervise the brokering. They will be obliged to wear the national dress code as well as carry identity card issued by the municipality.

As part of the agreement, the association will charge 2.5 per cent of the profit of the fish sold as a fee to the brokers services, Emiratis will not be charged any fee.