500 kg illegally caught prawns seized

Around 500 kilograms of illegally caught prawns were seized by the authorities concerned, it was announced yesterday. The Marine Supervision Directorate in the Agricultural and Marine Wealth Department within the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry said in a statement issued yesterday that the control teams detected around half a tonne prawns that were caught by trawling, locally known as “Al Karaf”.

As reported earlier, trawling is a fishing method that is harmful to the marine environment and is illegal in the Kingdom as per the ministerial resolution 205 of the year 2018. The resolution bans trawling in the Kingdom’s territorial waters and punishes violators as per law decree 20 of the year 2002 with regard to the regulation of fishing and marine wealth protection.

The directorate affirmed in a press statement that it would continue its inspection campaigns on coastlines, markets and areas where fishmongers gather. The directorate said that it recently intensified its operations and that the recent campaign came after a footage taken by a citizen showing sellers offering large quantities of prawns for sale on the streets was circulated on social media networks.

In its statement, the directorate reaffirmed that violators of the marine environment protection laws will face legal accountability, calling upon seafarers and fishermen to refrain from using banned fishing and shrimping methods, such as trawling, in order to preserve and ensure the sustainability of marine wealth in the Kingdom.