By IANS/WAM,
Abu Dhabi: A campaign was launched to conserve fish stocks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Conservation groups say rising demand for seafood has resulted in 80 percent decline of fish stocks in the UAE over the last three decades.
The Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) launched the “Choose Wisely” campaign to create awareness on the status of fish stocks in the UAE.
A joint survey conducted by the EWS and WWF has shown that 66 percent of the UAE population eat fish at least once a week. Hamour, a popular fish in the UAE, has registered a decline of about 92 percent due to over fishing since 1978.
Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, managing director of EWS, said: “Fishing constitutes an important part of our cultural heritage. Many of our forefathers were fishermen, sustaining families and communities from this valuable resource and bringing tales of the sea to our cultural consciousness.”
“It has only been over the last three decades, with the commercialisation of this sector and habitat destruction, that we have started witnessing an alarming decline in our fish stock.”
“In sustaining this resource, we will not only protect our precious and fragile marine ecosystem, but we will also conserve part of our cultural heritage. We bring this campaign to the residents of the UAE, aiming to empower them with consumer information about the status of these local valuable species, hoping to inspire them to ‘Choose Wisely’,” he added.