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New Dubai law to regulate, protect living aquatic resources

Dubai - Sheikh Hamdan forms regulatory committee on fishing of living aquatic resources in Dubai.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, has issued Resolution No. (02) of 2021 on the formation of the ‘Regulatory Committee on Fishing of Living Aquatic Resources in Dubai’, Wam reported on Monday.

The new Resolution is aimed at ensuring the proper implementation of federal legislation and ministerial decisions on the protection of living aquatic resources.

The Committee is tasked with monitoring violations that can cause the depletion of living aquatic resources in Dubai and regulating their fishing of these resources to ensure adequate availability of stocks for future generations.

Furthermore, the Committee will combat overfishing and encourage sustainable fishing methods.

The Resolution establishes the ‘Regulatory Committee on Fishing of Living Aquatic Resources in Dubai’ as a permanent committee under The Executive Council of Dubai.

The Committee will be chaired by Ahmed Mohammed bin Thani. Its members will include representatives of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Customs, Dubai Maritime City Authority, Dubai Fishermen Cooperative Association, UAE Critical Infrastructure and Coastal Protection Authority, as well as two representatives of the fishermen community selected by the Chairman of the Committee.

Member organisations will nominate their representatives to the Committee.

The resolution outlines the Committee's functions and responsibilities, which include:

- Policy-making and strategic planning for the preservation of living aquatic resources in Dubai in accordance with federal legislation and ministerial decisions issued in this regard; the adoption of regulations, controls and rules governing fishing in the Emirate of Dubai

- Monitoring the quantities of living aquatic resources that are caught, traded and sold in the markets, in particular species banned from being fished as outlined by the Ministry of Change and Climate Environment

- The issuance of circulars and directives to ensure fishermen comply with the provisions of federal legislation and ministerial decisions on the protection and development of living aquatic resources.

The Committee is also responsible for monitoring violations by fishermen of federal legislation and ministerial decisions issued in this regard, in addition to submitting recommendations to The Executive Council of Dubai on the preservation of living aquatic resources.

The Committee will submit a list of violators to competent judicial officers, imposing fines and taking administrative action against violators, demarcating both permitted and restricted fishing areas in Dubai, and specifying permitted and prohibited fishing equipment according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.

The Resolution requires all individuals and entities, including government agencies, authorities overseeing special development zones and free zones, and private sector institutions to cooperate fully with the Committee and to provide it with the data, statistics, information and reports necessary to perform its duties.

In discharging its responsibilities according to the Resolution, the Committee must abide by the provisions of Federal Law No. (23) of 1999 on the exploitation, protection and development of living aquatic resources in the UAE, its amendments and executive regulations, and ministerial decisions issued in accordance with its implementation.

This Resolution is effective from the date of its issuance and will be published in the Official Gazette.