Exported to other countries and not found in the local marketFisheries ignored [Archives:2005/849/Business & Economy]

Yemen is distinguished from other countries by its long coastal line that reaches 2200 km on the Red and Arab seas and the Indian Ocean. In Yemen's seawater, 600 fish species and marine animals live. The biodiversity of fisheries made Yemen a rich country with such wealth that attracts the international demand.

Regretfully, this wealth is ignored and no benefit is gained from it due to several administrative and legislative problems, as well as the retreat of fishing and marketing activities and the continuity of random fishing. All these problems have their negative impacts on fishermen and the sea environment.

The fishing activity in Yemen relies on two sectors: the traditional handicraft sector and the industrial one. Recent estimates indicate there are around 41323 fishermen who work in the traditional sector and use traditional wood boats. The number of fishermen is expected to reach 70 thousand this year.

According to scores revealed in 1998, the traditional fish caught amounted up to 108205 tons including salmon, tuna, sardine, and other kinds. With respect to the industrial sector of fishing, there are over 46 local and international companies operating in Arab Sea and most of them are located in the city of Mukalla. The total fish caught of these companies reached 17858 tons in 1998.

These companies have their own ice factories and fish markets. The fish caught is usually frozen at the shore of the sea before being shipped to the Chinese and European markets, as well as some Arab countries.

The traditional caught is usually sold at the local markets.

Large quantities of fresh caught are being exported to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. Saudi Arabia is considered the big market in terms of importing fish from Yemen.

According to statements of the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammad Bin Mirdas al-Qahtani, the Saudi market receives 100 tons of Yemeni fish a day and the market's share is 43.22% out of the overall Yemeni fish exports. The Yemeni exports to the Gulf markets grow from day to day, and the amount of fish export increased from 52.7 thousand tons in 2002 to 63.6 thousand tons in 2003, bringing to US$181 million the overall value of exports.

According to recent scores, the total value of fish production came at US$ 38 million in 2003, with a %72 from 2002 (an average growth of 6.42% between 2001 and 2003)

6 kg is the individual's share

Despite the diversity of fisheries in Yemen and the increase of the export volume, the local consumer cannot get fish easily due to its high prices and poor marketing.

Based on a study conducted researcher Mahyoub Naji al-Faqih, the poor fish marketing in the local international markets by some fishermen gives some parties a chance to monopolize the fish caught in seasons of peak when demand increases. Fishermen suffer from various barriers that hamper their activities, and in some cases a fight may take place between them and other fishing companies .

A Mukalla fishermen, Hussein, said: “We are usually exposed to deliberate collapse by some trade companies, my boat for instance was targeted by a big ship owned by one of the companies and this compelled me to travel to Sana'a to claim compensation from the Ministry of Fisheries.

Additionally, fishermen are always subjected to piracy by ships of foreign companies belonging to some of the neighboring countries. Abdullah Hibah a Hodeidah fisherman commented: “we are daily fought by the local companies that sometimes devastate our boats. Once I was detained for weeks along with tens of Yemeni fishermen in one of the neighboring countries.

In the absence of sea monitoring on ships of local and international companies, the piracy acts terribly increase, and this in turn leads to collapsing the sector of traditional fishing and the rarity of fish caught in the local markets.

” We are in a country rich with fish and this kind of food is supposed to be one of the main meals in every house in Yemen, but sorrowfully, we can not have fish except on rare occasions and in my own house we have never had any fish since last Ramadan,” Fahd al-Yami, a citizen, exclaimed.

Fisheries in Yemen does not seem to witness progress improvement and progress despite confirmations made by the President and the government that significant achievements have been scored in this field.
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