Sustainable Fishing Research -Protective Policies in Saudi Arabia

Fisheries Policies and Plans:

The main objective of Saudis fishery is to promote the sustainable products of local fish stock in order to insure fresh fish supply. One of its objective is to satisfy national demand by minimising the difference between the local fishery production and total fish consumption. As part of these overall policy objectives, protection of the marine environment is also a major Government priority.

Overall strategies:

The government objectives for the fisheries are:

• To produce fresh fish for local markets as part of national food security policy.

• To develop sustainable fisheries management through merchandise conservation measures.
• To improve the economic performance of different fishery sectors through finer utilisation of the marine environment.
• To support local fish production supplied from both capture fisheries and aquaculture.
• To encourage and increase fish in order to reduce fishing pressure on local stocks.

Fisheries Management:

Saudi Arabia has number of management measures to control utilisation of its fishery resources in both the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. These controls and include:

• Closed seasons for shrimp fishing in the Arabian Gulf from January 1 to August 1 each year and in the Red Sea from March 1 to August 1.

• Closed seasons for important coral reef species of grouper in the Red Sea.

• “Mesh size restrictions for gill nets in both the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.”

• Temporary suspension on the issue of new fishing licenses.

• Establishment of marine protected areas in both the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf.

In 2002, the Government introduced additional restrictions for the Arabian Gulf aimed at controlling fishing and enhancing the employment opportunities. These included:

• It is mandatory that at least one Saudi be employed in every boat (12 meters long or more)

• A freeze on the issuing of new licenses for shrimp fishing.

• Boat owners can only sell their fishing boats after two years from that issue date of their fishing license.

Since many of the stocks that are utilised commercially by Saudi fishermen are regional, regional co-operation with neighbouring countries in management will also need to be developed. At the present time, the regional fisheries commission (RECOFI) is not able to effectively implement or help such regional co-operation. Coastal development in the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea areas are impacting coastal fisheries resources. These developments therefore need to be taken into account in during the development of fisheries management in the Kingdom (Saudi Arabia), which will include fishing capacity control.

Bibliography:

• "Saudi Arabia." Saudi Arabia. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <>.
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