Abu Dhabi waters see record growth in average mature fish population size

Abu Dhabi: The average size of mature fish in Abu Dhabi’s waters has increased by 40 percent in the past two years, the emirate’s environment sector regulator has announced.

The Abu Dhabi Environment Agency (EAD) said in a statement that the average size of adult salmon or orange grouper increased by 18 percent during this period, while the average size of Nessel or Ehrenberg snapper Increased by 5%. In kanaad (kingtoaba), shaari (Spangled emperor), durduman (yellowtail trevally), jesh (orange spotted trevally), dhile (Talang queenfish) and shaam (yellowfin seabream).

The findings mark the fourth consecutive year that EAD has achieved a significant improvement in its Sustainability Index, which measures the sustainability of fish stocks. Since 2001, the authorities have been monitoring the status of the fish stocks against two basic sustainability indicators. First, the Spawning Biomass (SBR) index for each fish shows the percentage of fish that can spawn, allowing the population to be updated. The second indicator is the Sustainability Index, which describes the proportion of species that are sustainably developed.

A rise in the index indicates that administrative measures implemented in fisheries are having a positive impact, which will help restore fish stocks by 2030.

The EAD’s data shows it has already met the target percentage of the SBR, which determines the ratio of stocks of 30 major commercial species to their unexploited stocks. Average inventories are up 40% by 2022, up from 25.6% in 2020.

At the same time, the index increased from 8.9% in 2018 to 69.1% by the end of 2022, calculated by assessing a total of 35 fish species that account for 97% of 2022 landings.

Protection has been strengthened and supervisory measures have been launched, and the landings of some major fish species have increased and their distribution ranges have expanded. In fact, the EAD has recorded a 91% increase in zuraidi (golden trevally) landings since 2020, reaching about 15,000 kg by 2022, and a 90% increase in jedd (pickhandle barracuda) landings, reaching about 112,000 last year Kilogram. Landings of faskar (two bream) have increased by 96% since 2020, reaching around 800 kg by 2022. Landings of umm dhrais’ (Indian snapper) fish increased 25-fold, from 51 kg in 2020 to approximately 1,300 kg between 2020 and 2022.

The increase in landings has reduced pressure on the fishery and facilitated its recovery, demonstrating that the results achieved by the fishery performance indicators underscore the importance of the EAD continuing to enforce the ban on gargoor fishing and purse seine laws in Abu Dhabi waters.

EAD highlighted the importance of its existing collaboration with the Critical Infrastructure and Coast Protection Authority in protecting the marine environment, regulating the exploitation of fish stocks, and supporting ecotourism and cultural and recreational activities in Abu Dhabi.

The authorities also commended the commitment of the fishermen, the cooperation of the fishermen’s associations and their effective role in enforcing the decisions and procedures related to the fishery. This has contributed significantly to reducing the impact of overfishing on the marine environment and helped improve the state of fish stocks in the emirate’s waters for the fourth consecutive year.