International trade in three shark species will be restricted following the adoption of new global rules.
The sale of smooth, great or scalloped hammerhead sharks will require government-issued permits under restrictions by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
The UAE in March became one of 178 signatories to sign up to the rules, which also govern oceanic white-tip and porbeagle sharks, although neither of these are found in our waters.
Data from the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (Ead) shows that up to 4.3 tonnes of scalloped hammerhead and great hammerhead were landed in the emirate in 2011.
Signatories have 18 months to implement the rules.
"All countries catching sharks will need to review their legislation to comply with Cites requirements regarding sharks," said Elsayed Mohamed, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw).
Arab countries, including the UAE, also need to train officials to implement the new rules, he said.
Ifaw is organising a series of workshops in the region next year, although its priorities will be Yemen, Oman, Sudan and Egypt, where most of the region's sharks are landed.
Stanley Hartmann, of Ead's fisheries investigation and monitoring unit, said one possibility was to ban demersal longlines, popularly known as manshalla, which consist of up to 100 hooks.
Commercial fisheries have been able to obtain a licence for shark fishing using longlines since 2010.
It is valid for eight months and there are restrictions, but it has proven very lucrative for fishermen.
"Ead is in favour of abolishing manshalla fishing operations in the UAE altogether as a first step to comply with the Cites Appendix II protection measures for the hammerhead sharks," Mr Hartmann said.
"The mentioned shark species are particularly vulnerable to overfishing because they are all slow growing, late to mature, long-living and produce few young, which means it is difficult for populations to recover from overfishing."
In line with its commitments under Cites, the UAE may issue export licences for the three species and their products provided that trade is sustainable and does not threaten their survival.
"On the basis of their globally threatened status, there is, however, no sound justification to issue these trade permits and it is expected that the landings and trade of hammerhead sharks will slowly but surely cease to exist in the UAE," Mr Hartmann said.
"Ead is Abu Dhabi's environmental regulator and cooperates closely with the Ministry of Environment and Water on a number of issues of national interest.
"The implementation of trade protection measures for hammerhead sharks will be addressed, in close harmony with the stakeholders involved, including the fishermen, the Critical Infrastructure and Coastal Protection Authority, shark traders and retailers."
While the UAE's shark fishery is relatively small compared with those of Yemen or Oman, the country is a major re-export centre for shark products, especially fins, which are a valued item in the Far East.
The UAE is the fifth largest shark fin trader to Hong Kong, with up to 170,000 kilograms of fins exported in 2011, Mr Hartmann said.
Dubai is the main trading hub for the business.
Officials at the Ministry of Environment and Water were unavailable for comment.
vtodorova@thenational.ae
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ICC T20 Team of 2021
Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi
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Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
- Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
Sport: Started playing polo two years ago. Helps him relax, plus he enjoys the speed and focus
Cars: Loves exotic cars and currently drives a Bentley Bentayga
Holiday: Favourite travel destinations are London and St Tropez
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
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Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5