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CLOSED SEASON FOR CORAL-REEF GROUPERS In a move which gained high praise from a wide cross-section of the community, the Ministry of Agriculture and Water in Saudi Arabia has taken positive steps to halt the decline in the catches of Nagil , Hamoor, and other reef groupers. Saudi fisherman, Ahmed al Bahna, spoke with Red Sea diver, underwater photographer and conservationist Hagen Schmid, about the new legislation aimed at protecting both the fish and fishermen's livelihoods. Following a recent fishing excursion when Ahmed landed only low-value parrot-fish, Ahmed recalled happier days when it was quite normal to return after a morning's fishing with ten to fifteen good-sized hamour in his cool-box. During recent years however the catch has declined steadily and Ahmed and his colleagues have been sailing further and further offshore in order to catch anything at all. This decline in grouper stocks has caused considerable dismay among Saudi fishermen such as Ahmed al Bahna. In Ahmed's eyes the increased pressure on groupers has not come primarily from commercial fishermen who have not altered their methods nor increased their numbers to any marked extent in recent years, but from pleasure fishermen who have greatly increased their activities and have modern and efficient methods for catching fish. Many of these pleasure fishing boats are faster and more efficient that those of commercial fishermen like Ahmed. They are able to reach offshore reefs in rapid time and to fish them efficiently with hook and line as well by spearfishing. Not surprisingly, Ahmed and his colleagues are unhappy about this competition which in his view at least is responsible for a decline in fish-stocks. Aware of this problem, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Agriculture and Water has been closely monitoring catches of coral-reef groupers. Since these fish have well defined breeding seasons the Ministry has decided to place a complete ban on fishing them for two months in April and May, during the period when they aggregate to spawn and when vast numbers have previously been caught. This is the first time that such a closed fishing season for particular reef-fish has been declared by any of the countries bordering the Red Sea. It is a positive step that is likely to play a significant role in protecting the valuable and renewable natural resource. The Ministry of Agriculture and Water is to be congratulated for its efforts in this regard and it is hoped that additional conservation measures will be considered in future. Update: Reintroduction of the Arabian Oryx in Saudi Arabia As of June 1994 the fenced Mahazat As Sayd reserve, north of Taif, remains the only reintroduction site for the Arabian oryx in Saudi Arabia. In 1993 the free-ranging population of oryx in Mahazat grew from 62 to 113 animals. Thirty one calves were born in the "wild" and 16 new animals were released into the reserve. Mortality rates of free-ranging adults and calves are less than 10%; 1993 is the first year in which natural reproductive recruitment has accounted for the majority increase in the free-ranging population since the initial release of captive-bred oryx from San Diego and Jordan in 1990. In early May 1994, 13 more C-generation oryx were released into the reserve, bringing the estimated total number of animals in the "wild" to 134. With a target population size of around 300 oryx, and with a good natural rate of increase, no further releases of captive-bred oryx are planned for Mahazat. New release sites are currently being considered in unfenced protected areas in the far north and south of Saudi Arabia. Update: Reintroduction of Houbara Bustard in Saudi Arabia The houbara bustard reintroduction programme in Saudi Arabia has focused on the Mahazat As Sayd reserve in 1992,1993 and 1994. By mid 1994 there was a total of 17 radio-tagged houbara free-ranging within the reserve, including one bird that was released in 1992. In May 1994 the first group of houbara chicks from the 1993/94 captive breeding season at the NWRC, Taif, was translocated to Mahazat. During 1994, between 40 and 50 sub-adult (3-5 months old) houbara will be placed into a predator-proof, 400 ha pre-release enclosure, from which they will be free to free fly and enter the wider reserve. During the 1992 and 1993 release trials, problems were encountered in the form of predation on naive, captive-bred houbara. These problems are being addressed in 1994 through the trapping, and translocation away from the pre-release site, of potential avian and mammalian predators . Further releases of houbara in Mahazat are planned for 1995, while new release sites are being prepared in the north-east of the Kingdom, within the former core breeding area of the houbara in Saudi Arabia. Exhibition on Environmental Awareness A major exhibition on environmental awareness is planned to be opened on 8 October 1994 in Riyadh where it will run for one month. The exhibition is organized by the Saudi Environmental Awareness Project (SEAP). About 100 companies and government agencies will be participating in this exhibition. NCWCD, MEPA, ARAMCO, SABIC and several ministries will be participating with special exhibits. The exhibition is planned to contain three major sections: one for SEAP, one for government agencies, and one for companies. Several foreign agencies have shown interest in participating in this exhibition. Red Sea Marine Environment Symposium held in Jeddah Symposium on Desert Studies Symposium on Environmental Biology held in Qatar |
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| Subjects | Search Arabian Wildlife. Volume 1, Number 2 |
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