An assessment into banning the export of crabs is being carried out as part of efforts to tackle Bahrain’s dwindling marine life population.
The Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry has started looking into the proposal approved by the Muharraq Municipal Council in November.
The ban was proposed after the council learned that there was a short supply of the crustaceans and as soon as stocks were available hotels, resorts and restaurants snapped them up.
Council chairman Ghazi Al Murbati told the GDN that the ministry has agreed in principle to the proposal and is now looking into the feasibility of introducing such a ban.
“It’s the exporting of this resource that has led to the foreigners depleting our stocks, because if they were not exporting at this rate then there will be enough in the market,” said Mr Al Murbati during a council meeting.
Proposal
“The ministry has agreed with our proposal and currently they are doing an assessment on how much exporting has an impact on the resource and they seem very serious about it.”
He stressed the importance of such a ban, explaining that unethical fishing practices have severely damaged the country’s marine ecosystem, leading to the depletion of some fish reserves such as the hammour and the now nearly extinct spotted grouper.
“This does not only affect the crabs, but it also has an effect on the entire ecosystem,” he added.
“There are hundreds of small fishing boats that use fishing cages, each boat has 100 to 200 of these, they put small fish as bait, these small fish attract bigger fish like small sized hammour.
“These then get caught in the cages and the fishermen use them to catch more crabs, the hammour goes for BD5 or BD6 in the market, instead of releasing it so it can grow, they use it as bait.”
Bahrain already imposes a two-month ban, from March 15 to May 15, on catching crabs, with between 200 to 300 special cages being set up across the country.
Crabs are mainly found in the northern coast of the country – Karranah, Janusan, Jid Al Haj, Karbabad – and i.n specific areas around the Muharraq island, particularly Hidd.
In 2013, Bahrain was ranked second worldwide in exporting frozen crabs after Japan, according to international statistics.
Bahrain also started a ban on trawling in 2018 after it emerged the country’s fish stocks had dropped by 90 per cent since 2004.
The ban also included a prohibition on the export of 14 species of sea life, including fresh or frozen fish and shrimp, a reduction in the number of fishermen allowed on each dhow or small fishing boat and a training scheme for Bahraini fishermen.
Last month the GDN reported that MPs voted to hold an open debate about the government’s policies on regulating fishing practices.
ghazi@gdn.com.bh
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