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26 species of sharks 
found in Gulf waters

DUBAI - Around 26 species of sharks have been discovered in the Arabian Gulf to date, revealed lead scientist of the UAE Shark Research Project, Rima Jabado, who started the project officially in June last year under the joint supervision of Prof Dr Waleed Hamza, Aquatic Ecologist and Chairman of the Biology Department Faculty of Science at UAE University (UAEU), Al Ain and Dr. Aaron Henderson from Sultan Qaboos University in Oman.

“I have currently confirmed 26 species of sharks along the Arabian Gulf coast of the UAE. These include some of the more famous species such as the Great Hammerhead, Bull shark, Blacktip shark, Milk shark and Spot-tail shark,” she said.

Jabado decided to pursue her own research project on fishery and ecology of sharks in the country as part of her PhD due to lack of data and statistics on the marine animals in the region. Her research includes investigating characteristics of fishery, catch composition, species distribution and abundance, and the feeding ecology of the milk shark (scientific name, Rhizoprionodon acutus) and slit eye shark (scientific name, Loxodon macrorhinus).

She had started off by gathering information on numbers, catches and species spotted by speaking to fishermen in the country between June 2010 and September 2010. Actual field work began in October 2010 in four main catch areas, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah and will run till December 2011.

“Sharks are commercially important species in the UAE and it is important to study their biology to help undertake stock assessments of species and to distinguish between sustainable and unsustainable fisheries. Statistics in the Food Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) that are available are not species-specific. I’ve been living in the UAE for a couple of years and when I started looking for information about sharks in the Arabian Gulf, there were no proper statistics available. We need to really understand the importance of sharks in this part of the world,” she said.

Jabado added that while there are currently no data on declines in this part of the world, recent papers investigating shark populations in the Northern Atlantic, Mediterranean and South China Sea show a fall in species’ numbers ranging from 60 per cent to 90 per cent in a few decades.

“The same issue arises here where there is generally very little regional or even local data to support the hypothesis that they are currently threatened or that their populations are on the decline. There needs to be more research focused on investigating the status of animals such as sharks and even turtles, dolphins and whales,” she said.

Sharks in the region are under constant threat from pollution, coastal development, habitat destruction and degradation, but one of the biggest concerns now are fishing pressures due to fishermen. Their fins, while it is not part of the Middle Eastern cuisine, have gained interest as an export for Asian countries where it is considered a delicacy. This motivated Jabado to study and characterise the trade in shark fins from the UAE.

“According to reports, UAE is the fifth largest exporter of shark fins in the world after countries such as Indonesia, Taiwan and Spain. As far as I’m aware, Oman is the biggest importer in the UAE while Iran also plays an important role in the trade of sharks. We need to focus on the status of sharks in order to help fisheries stock assessment and to set quotas based on solid scientific data. Current laws that would affect sharks include Federal Laws 23 and 24 which input control on the fisheries and the marine environment in general. Laws 23 and 24 do not specify anything on the shark fishery but rather control the fishery in general by attempting to regulate the licensing, types of boats, fishing equipment, areas fished and so on. While they are not specific to sharks, having legislations to regulate the type of fishing that can be undertaken in these waters is a crucial first step in fisheries management. There is also a Ministerial decree (542) from 2008 which attempts to regulate the shark fishery.

farhana@khaleejtimes.com