Fishing violations destroying Gulf oyster wealth

Fishing malpractices are depleting Gulf waters from pearl-bearing oysters which had been the main source of living for the local people before oil was struck in the region more than 50 years ago, according to Kuwaiti divers.

A naval expedition of more than 190 divers seeking to revive pre-oil Gulf traditions warned that the trip that had lasted several weeks had revealed a serious decline in oysters in Kuwait’s territorial waters.

“Our operations have revealed that the number of oysters in the Gulf water has become very low,” said Fahd Al Fahd, a retired Kuwaiti army general who heads the Emirate’s Marine Sport Club, which is sponsoring such trips.

“This trip included more than 190 divers aboard 15 ships but it resulted in a small catch of oysters…it is clear this problem is caused by serious fishing violations, which should prompt the General Environment Authority to take measures.”

Addressing local reporters in Kuwait, Al Fahd said infant oysters do not bear pearl and should be left to grow.

“We have found out that most of the nets we recovered were almost clean because violators apparently do not distinguish between infant and grown-up oysters…such practices have serious threats to the oyster wealth.”

Kuwait, the UAE and other Gulf nations had heavily relied on pearling as a source of living before oil was discovered more than five decades ago.

Commercial pearling expeditions, which used to last several months, have now stopped but many private institutions in the region are still sponsoring such trips with the aim of reviving their ancestors’ heritage.

Most Gulf countries have enacted laws banning random fishing and the use of some nets on the grounds they are damaging the region’s marine wealth.

But there have been several reports of massive violations by fishermen taking advantage of poor maritime security to maximize their catch.

This has led to serious erosion in the local marine wealth, once one of the richest in the world.

What is aggravating the problem is the deteriorating pollution levels in the Gulf water as a result of persistent oil spills and pipeline leakage.

Many tankers playing the region have also been reported to be dumping sludge into the water after washing their storage tanks in violation of existing laws.

In a recent lecture in Abu Dhabi, a prominent British environmentalist warned that growing pollution levels in the Gulf are destroying the pearl wealth.

"Pollution at seas around the Gulf has caused the once thriving pearl farms to almost vanish,” said Ray Noble, a veteran British government adviser.

"I know the high level of pollution in the region has had a devastating effect on the pearl farms in the sea, but I am optimistic that some of them might be restarted in time….this depends on oceanic movements and currents, water change and, above all, efforts by the regional states to combat pollution…..strong action is now needed to reverse the environmental decline on land and at sea.”

Armed with primitive equipment, old Gulf divers used to set out on long, perilous pearling journeys which would last at least three months.

Many people died trying to hunt for pearls without proper diving equipment and when they returned, most of the catch was to be swapped for simple items such as rice, bread, spices and other foodstuffs supplied by visiting Indian vessels.

According to the United Nations and other researchers, the Gulf has become one of the most polluted seas because of massive oil slicks, leakage from crude export terminals, pipelines and oil vessels, recurrent shipping accidents and deliberate dumping of sludge and other pollutant into the sea.

The problem was complicated by the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, when one of the world’s largest oil slicks of more than eight million barrels hit the Gulf waters. Retreating Iraqi forces from Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War also burnt hundreds of the emirate’s oil wells and dumped millions of crude barrels into the sea.

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