Marine inspectors to enforce kingfish fishing ban in Qatar

Marine inspectors are conducting rigorous checks at Al Khor fishing jetty to ensure that fishermen are not using nets to catch kingfish after Qatar banned its fishing from August 15 to October 15.

GCC countries had decided in June 2012 to ban the fishing of kingfish, known locally as 'kann'aad', in the Gulf waters from August 15 to October 15 every year starting from 2015.

This is the mating season for kingfish, which is also known as king mackerel. So the idea behind the ban is to preserve the stocks of kingfish and let its numbers grow.

Kingfish are large and can be of weights varying from five to 40 kg and even more. They are a migratory species and are part of popular cuisine in the GCC region.

In Qatar, they comprise some 13 percent of total fish catch in a year on average and some 180 fishing boats — which is 35 percent of the total number of fishing boats in the country — are dedicated only to catching kingfish.

That reflects the demand for the fish. Because of the current ban which has led to severe shortages, kingfish has become highly expensive in the local market.

On Sunday, for example, the fish was being retailed for up to QR95 a kg, while its rate usually averages between QR30 and QR40 a kg. Sometimes it is even cheaper.

Qatar's Coast Guard is providing all possible help to the marine inspectors from the Ministry of Environment in conducting the checks.

The ministry has urged fishermen not to catch the fish using the net from August 15 to October 15 as this is their breeding time. [Read more on The Peninsula]