Minister of United Arab Emirates’ Climate Change and Environment, Mariam Al Mheiri has said that protecting marine resources and biodiversity are key priorities of the country.
Al Mheiri was speaking at a meeting of the Supreme Committee for the Exploitation, Protection, and Development of Living Aquatic Resources which was held on Thursday, February 10.
During the meeting, the Dubai model was shared, where members heard about the goals of the Regulatory Committee on Fishing of Living Aquatic Resources in the emirates
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.
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She stated that the ministry and the entire country was committed to protecting the marine wealth and scaling-up research and development in this area to increase the contribution of seafood products to our food security.
“We rely heavily on seafood in our diet as a sustainable and healthy source of protein,” she said. “The growing share of aquaculture in meeting the global demand for seafood underscores its appeal as a lucrative investment”
She said the ministry was working on developing the sector locally by promoting investment and entrepreneurship and upgrading fishing regulations in co-operation with our stakeholders.
She maintained that several initiatives had been undertaken by the ministry to ensure marine life is preserved in the UAE, including evaluations of aquaculture systems at marine sites and conducting a feasibility study of certain fish species.
“Another goal of the project is to increase commercial fish production by the year 2030 by encouraging sustainable fishing methods,” she said.
Story was adapted from the National News.
