Authorities are pushing ahead with efforts to safeguard the UAE’s marine environment.
Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said protecting marine resources and biodiversity are key priorities of the country.
She was speaking at a meeting of the Supreme Committee for the Exploitation, Protection, and Development of Living Aquatic Resources held on Thursday.
“We rely heavily on seafood in our diet as a sustainable and healthy source of protein. We are committed to protecting our marine wealth and scaling up research and development in this area to increase the contribution of seafood products to our food security,” she said.
“The growing share of aquaculture in meeting the global demand for seafood underscores its appeal as a lucrative investment. Therefore, we are working on developing the sector locally by promoting investment and entrepreneurship and upgrading fishing regulations in co-operation with our stakeholders.”
A number of initiatives have been undertaken by the ministry to ensure marine life is preserved in the UAE.
These include evaluations of aquaculture systems at marine sites and conducting a feasibility study of certain fish species.
The Dubai model was shared at the meeting, where members heard about the goals of the Regulatory Committee on Fishing of Living Aquatic Resources in the emirate.
The committee in Dubai is responsible for preserving aquatic resources, enforcing fishing regulations, monitoring offences that can cause the depletion of fish and sea creatures, and helping in the creation of artificial reefs to restore the coastline.
Another goal of the project is to increase commercial fish production by the year 2030 by encouraging sustainable fishing methods.
Rebuilding the UAE’s coral reefs – in pictures
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The shells will help to form biological building blocks to create artificial reefs. All photos: Dubai Oyster Project -
Pupils from The Arbor School in Dubai have teamed up with a restaurant group for the Dubai Oyster Project. -
They are using used oyster shells from The Maine restaurants in Dubai, which are usually just thrown out and end up in landfills, to create artificial reefs. -
They placed more than 250,000 of the used shells near the Ghantoot border. -
They used illegal fishing nets seized by authorities to help transport the shells to the water's edge. -
The project will also help to reduce the amount of food waste.
