Even nature seems to stand with Qatar as fish stocks surge along the country’s coast

It seems even nature has taken Qatar’s side during these tough times. While the sentence may sound cliche, there is some truth to it.

This is because the sea around Qatar currently has ‘more than usual’ quantities of fish like tuna, king fish and hamour, said fishermen who spoke to Gulf Times.

Some veteran fishermen said this is the ‘first time in several years that these three varieties are being found in such large numbers in the Qatari waters, in the month of December.’

Asked to explain the reasons, the fishermen attributed the phenomenon to ‘unfavourable weather conditions along the southern Indian coast towards the end of November and the beginning of December.’

The conditions have led to a change in natural factors that impacted marine life, and the Arabian Gulf ended up with a greater population of these fish, they claimed.

One of the fishermen said the region’s waters usually receive large quantities of tuna and king fish whenever there is a swift change in weather conditions.

“There has been a change in the direction of winds towards the Arabian coast, which has positively influenced the availability of fish in local waters and, in turn, brought down prices,” he observed.

The fishermen, some of whom have worked in the Qatari waters for 25-30 years and have immense knowledge of the local conditions, said they were expecting the season to last at least until the middle of next month. A further fall in fish prices was also likely, they said.

While king fish is available for prices starting from QR12/kg in some major retail outlets, hamour is being sold from QR22/kg.