Dubai Fish Museum nearing completion

Humaid Saeed Al Marri, Director of Markets and Abattoirs Department, said that a lot of European tourists are visiting the fish market every year. "According the 2000 statistics, 50 per cent of the 18,000 tourists who visited the fish market in Deira were from Germany and 20 per cent each from the UK and Italy, while the rest were from other parts of Europe, Japan, China and Hong Kong."

Giving details of the upcoming museum, Mr. Al Marri said that it will comprise three parts. "The first part will display equipment used by UAE fishermen, the second part will show the fishing boats, while the third will have information on the different varieties of fishes available in the country. There are over 350 known species of fish in the UAE. There will be information on where each type of fish is found and the fishing seasons for them," he said.

Mr. Al Marri said the museum would provide information on all varieties of fish available in the UAE. "We have decided not to display live fish in the museum," he said.

Keeping in mind the visitors from schools, colourful posters are being prepared in co-operation with the Public Relations Section, he said and added that there will also be informative brochures on fishes of the UAE. He said that the museum would also provide an introduction to the different fish-based cuisine in the Gulf countries, complete with the methods of cooking.

As part of the decoration work, the museum would be adorned with replicas of fish, Mr. Al Marri said and added that instead of buying costly models from abroad, the replicas were manufactured locally. "Our artist, Abdul Fattah Malha made two full size replicas of a dolphin and a shark. It took him six months to finish the work, which included gathering the required information and deciding on the materials and colour of the replicas," he said. Mr. Al Marri recently honoured Mr. Malha, and others who supported the setting up of the museum, at a ceremony held at the Advertisement Section of the municipality .

A receptionist-cum guide would be appointed in the museum to receive the tourists and explain to them the traditional fishing equipment and other items on display there, Mr. Al Marri said and added that entry to the museum would be free of charge.