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Tribune News Network
Doha
Nearly 180 fishing vessels, or 35 percent of all boats with fishing licenses, are expected to stay docked for two months as Qatar has banned the use of drift nets for fishing, starting Saturday.
Catches would be restricted to hook-and-line.
A drift net is a wall of netting that hangs in the water column with its mesh designed to entangle the fish. It is particularly used for catching kingfish in Qatar.
The ban, which will stay until October 15, is meant to provide the kingfish stock in Qatar waters with protection from overexploitation.
According to the Qatar News Agency, the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), issued a statement announcing the ban on Thursday.
During the ban period, handling and transporting of the ‘kingfish nets’ in fishing vessels are prohibited. Boats licensed by the Fisheries Department, however, can fish using hook-and-line.
Kingfish is one of the most-caught fish in Qatar and represents around 13 percent of the total fish caught in Qatar every year.
About 180 vessels in the country operate in kingfish fishing, which is 35 percent of the number of licensed vessels.
It was agreed between GCC countries to start implementing a program to ban fishing for kingfish by nets during the period from Aug. 15 to Oct. 15 of each year in all GCC countries, starting from 2015.
The State of Qatar issued a ministerial decision on banning the fishing of kingfish during this period, in implementation of what was agreed upon and to preserve the stocks of these migratory fish.
Doha
Nearly 180 fishing vessels, or 35 percent of all boats with fishing licenses, are expected to stay docked for two months as Qatar has banned the use of drift nets for fishing, starting Saturday.
Catches would be restricted to hook-and-line.
A drift net is a wall of netting that hangs in the water column with its mesh designed to entangle the fish. It is particularly used for catching kingfish in Qatar.
The ban, which will stay until October 15, is meant to provide the kingfish stock in Qatar waters with protection from overexploitation.
According to the Qatar News Agency, the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), issued a statement announcing the ban on Thursday.
During the ban period, handling and transporting of the ‘kingfish nets’ in fishing vessels are prohibited. Boats licensed by the Fisheries Department, however, can fish using hook-and-line.
Kingfish is one of the most-caught fish in Qatar and represents around 13 percent of the total fish caught in Qatar every year.
About 180 vessels in the country operate in kingfish fishing, which is 35 percent of the number of licensed vessels.
It was agreed between GCC countries to start implementing a program to ban fishing for kingfish by nets during the period from Aug. 15 to Oct. 15 of each year in all GCC countries, starting from 2015.
The State of Qatar issued a ministerial decision on banning the fishing of kingfish during this period, in implementation of what was agreed upon and to preserve the stocks of these migratory fish.
