Study warns against exploitation of sea cucumbers in Red Sea [Archives:2007/1108/Local News]
SANA'A, Dec. 2 ) Mahmoud Shediawah, Director of the General Authority for Protecting the Environment, emphasized the importance of preserving sea cucumbers considering them an environmentally and economically important resource.
A workshop was conducted in Sana'a on Nov. 28 to study the findings and recommendations of a report on sea cucumber fishing in Yemen. The report was prepared in cooperation with the Regional Authority to Preserve the Red Sea Environment and Gulf of Aden.
In the workshop, Shediawah said that increased demands for sea cucumbers created pressure to exploit them, leading to an environmental imbalance threatening to make this resource extinct.
He also invited new programs to systemize sea cucumber fishing as well as to preserve and protect the environment. The sea cucumber is threatened due to a huge depletion of their numbers, he claimed.
In turn, Zaher Aghwan, an environmental specialist and representative of the Regional Authority for Preserving the Environment in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, presented a report evaluating sea cucumbers in Yemen.
Current Situation and Challenges
Aghwan said that the state of sea cucumbers was evaluated in Yemen in March 2007. The evaluation process aimed to prepare an attachment on the current situation of fisheries and presented recommendations to the Yemeni government in regard to developing a long-term management plan for sea cucumber resources.
Additionally, a proposal was made to establish a project managing depletion and extinction risks, including a two year ban on the fishing and trading of sea cucumbers.
Studies were also conducted on sea cucumber reserves and implementing proper management for sea cucumbers in addition to establishing a common framework for concerned parties.
The study warned against the over fishing of sea cucumbers and recommended measures to achieve sustainable management of this resource.
The sea cucumber is a sea animal existing off Yemeni shores and other countries of the world. It is used as food products and for medicinal purposes.
The workshop was organized by the General Authority for Protecting the Environment and was attended by 15 fishery office managers as well as representatives of the Fishery Cooperative Union and technicians in the authority.
In related news, Ba Jamal, a Presidential consultant, calls on countries bordering the Red Sea, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Eritrea, to form a security system for its protection, considering it an important artery between Africa and Asia.
In a statement to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Ba Jamal stated that these countries are best able to protect the Red Sea, and that Egypt and Yemen are the primary keys to keep it secure, located at the sea's northern and southern borders, respectively.
Every six months, periodic meetings are held between Yemen and Egypt concerning Red Sea security. These meeting have not ceased despite events taking place in Iraq and Eritrea, he added.
He also confirmed that countries bordering the Red Sea must cooperate to reach mutual ends, emphasizing the importance of engaging Saudi Arabia to secure the Red Sea, as it is an oil exporting country. Eritrea is also involved in the process.
Jamal further stated that Yemen and Egypt can form a security system for the Red Sea, adding: “This will go against the strategy of the U.S. and Israel. Therefore the Red Sea countries
