DUBAI // Fishermen in Sharjah have asked the Ministry of Environment and Water to clamp down on leisure boat owners who are illegally selling fish at markets in the emirate.
Crews from fishing boats say they are having to compete for sales with owners of private speedboats and yachts who catch fish without a licence.
“A large number of leisure boat owners, residents or nationals, compete with fishing boat owners, going out to sea under the pretext of a leisurely journey whilst they engage in fishing activities and sell their catch,” said fisherman Khaled Mohammed. “Upon informing the Coast Guard, no action is taken to put an end to these infractions due to the absence of a clear law that prevents them from fishing.”
He said the number of boats was increasing.
Abderrahman Bushabs, from the Sharjah Fishermen Co-operative Association, said the problem was getting worse each day, adding that the number of leisure boats going to sea to fish had grown to more than 400, more than three times the number of fishing boats, reported Al Ittihad, the Arabic language sister paper of The National.
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