Abu Dhabi: A member of the Federal National Council pleaded for an improved system to support the country’s fishermen and conserve dwindling fish stocks.

Ali Eisa Al Nuaimi, a representative from Ajman, said that with fuel accounting for over 70 per cent of the operational costs of fishermen, they refrained from venturing far out to sea, thus impacting their catch and spiking prices.

“Emirati fishermen who own big fishing boats usually go to sea for longer trips so as to net a larger catch. But increasing fuel costs have forced many to avoid longer fishing trips resulting in comparably smaller catch available for the market,” said Al Nuaimi, who is expected to seek answers from Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water, on Tuesday on efforts to boost the UAE’s fishing industry.

Al Nuaimi stressed that fishing in the Gulf, an industry worth Dh1 billion a year, with the UAE consuming up to 100 tonnes of seafood annually at a rate of 33 kilograms per capita — the highest among GCC countries, could not be left under the control of foreign workers.

He estimated that the share of local governments and Emirati fishermen in the market was just 10 per cent.

The country’s fishing fleet is mainly manned by Asian workers, many of whom are paid according to the amount of fish they bring to port.

Al Nuaimi said Emirati fishermen are particularly hard hit by steep fuel costs of up to Dh4,500 per trip, labour fees of nearly Dh3,000 to be paid for hiring expatriate workers on boats, governmental fees, increase in prices of steel and fibreglass used for fishing boats among other expenses.

He urged local government departments to provide subsidies that would offset fuel prices and other costs to fishermen, besides measures to facilitate recruiting of expatriate workers, and social surety coverage for full-time fishermen.

Emirati fishermen have long complained that subsidies they receive from the government are hardly enough, especially with the fuel costs alone adding up to 70 per cent of the cost of a fishing trip.

In addition, to the increasing costs, Emirati fishermen have also called for increased support from the Ministry of Environment and Water and local authorities in setting up cold storages and freezer vans to store and transport fish from one market to another while eliminating the middlemen in the industry who dictate the market price and generate huge profits by forcing fishermen to sell their catch at low prices while selling it to retailers at very high prices.

Al Nuaimi said that the middlemen are already thriving by selling fish at high prices to retailers following the hike in fuel price. While, they make the profit, it is the poor fishermen who toil hard at sea and incur heavy expenses even as the brokers control the market price, he added.

While welcoming the training of 10 Emirati brokers over the past months, Al Nuaimi suggested that the government do away with foreign middlemen and encourage more Emirati brokers to join the fishing industry by offering them more incentives and subsidies.