Tough new laws are being drawn up to “protect Bahrain’s waters from pollution and over-fishing,” said officials, cited by the Gulf Daily.
The laws include restrictions on foreign fishing vessels, tighter control on fishing methods and a ban on dumping factory or other waste in the sea, they said on Wednesday.
“The aim is to protect Bahrain’s greatest natural resource and a key source of food,” Minister of State for Shura Council Affairs Abdulaziz Al Fadhel said.
According to the proposed laws, professional and leisure fishermen will need licenses.
They will also control which areas can be fished and what for.
Foreign fishing vessels will be barred from Bahrain’s territorial waters unless they get special licenses from the Housing and Agriculture Minister.
The minister will also have the power to suspend all fishing temporarily, to protect stocks, said the paper.
There will be stiff penalties for anyone using unlicensed fishing equipment, such as nets, which draw in an indiscriminate haul.
The use of explosives, poison, chemicals or electrocution in fishing will also be banned.
New regulations are also proposed on the import or export of fish, or the marketing of any marine resources, the paper added – Albawaba.com
