Shark sales in UAE fish markets are strictly regulated. Antonie Robertson / The National
Shark sales in UAE fish markets are strictly regulated. Antonie Robertson / The National
Shark sales in UAE fish markets are strictly regulated. Antonie Robertson / The National
Shark sales in UAE fish markets are strictly regulated. Antonie Robertson / The National

Opinion

Laws alone will not save the sharks

Enforcement against unscrupulous fish sales is needed to protect a threatened ecosystem

National Editorial

March 01, 2016

  • English
  • Arabic

The ban on catching sharks during their breeding and migration season, which is under way now, is designed to ensure the 29 indigenous or migratory shark species found in our waters will still be a resource for future generations. But when members of the fishing industry knowingly breach that ban, as we reported yesterday, they threaten the very industry on which their future depends.

Inspectors from Dubai Municipality who visited Deira fish market in a surprise raid in the middle of the night last week found 80 sharks for sale by a fishmonger. He was aware of the blanket ban on catching sharks between February and July and, as a first offender, his catch was confiscated.

However, by then the sharks had already been definned, with the meat most probably sold for export to China, where shark fin soup is a controversial but popular delicacy.

The UAE is trying to strike the right balance between exploiting a valuable resource while also ensuring the long-term health of the marine environment. The six-month ban during sharks’ breeding and migration season came into effect in September 2014. The Ministry of Environment and Water resolution also imposed a complete prohibition of trading in five species of shark that have been identified by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) as being at risk. Three of the five are common in local waters, while the ban on the other two has the effect of stopping Dubai and Abu Dhabi being trans-shipment points between countries where the sharks were caught and China, the usual destination.

However, laws alone cannot achieve the intended goal without being accompanied by enforcement of the kind seen this week. Without unannounced inspections, some unscrupulous fish traders will be tempted to earn a quick dirham, even if they know the long-term damage to the system. We have not just the responsibility to ensure future generations will also be able to enjoy the bounty of the oceans but also a duty to do so. That duty requires the authorities to verify that everyone plays by the same rules, without gaining a business advantage by breaching the ban on trading in sharks at this time of year. If they will not protect their future, we have to do it on behalf of the generations that will follow.

Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
​​​​​​​Bloomsbury Academic

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FIGHT CARD

Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)

Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)

Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)

Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)

Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)

Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)

Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)

Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)

Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)

Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)

Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

UAE