In cooperation with Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) has launched on Wednesday 3rd awareness campaign to ensure the enforcement of Ministerial Resolution No. (501) of 2015, which prohibits the fishing and selling of lethrinus nebulosus and siganus canaliculatus during their breeding season across the UAE. The ban on all fishing activities of those two species is in effect from March 1 to April 30 of each year.

By holding several field meetings and workshops with owners of fish shops, fishermen, and representatives of import and re-export fish products companies, the campaign aimed to raise awareness of fish shops' workers about the importance of implementing the resolution. They also were briefed with the effects of implementing the resolution on the sustainability of those two species of fish, as they are key elements in the local fish markets. The meetings highlighted the need to cooperate with the ministry to realize its goal of achieving sustainable fisheries in the UAE.

During the campaign, several awareness publications were distributed to encourage fish shops and fishermen to implement the regulation, to ensure the sustainability of lethrinus nebulosus and siganus canaliculatus in light of their low stock. Moreover, those are the most two preferred species of fish for the UAE's people. The campaign urged stakeholders not to fish, sell or trade in the two species during their breeding season, as every member of a society is responsible for enabling those species to increase their natural stock.

For her side, Shamma Al Menhali, Director of Communication & Branding at ADFCA, said that the campaign is part of the authority's efforts to preserve and develop natural food resources in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The campaign came in the framework of ADFCA's permanent cooperation with relevant national and international institutions and bodies, particularly Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, which seeks to preserve lethrinus nebulosus and siganus canaliculatus as the most important local species of fish, she added.

Al Menhali stressed that enabling those species to increase their natural stock is a responsibility of all, in light of the decline in those species' stocks in recent years to low rates that threaten their sustainability. She noted that the resolution aims to raise their stock by 30% to reach the level of sustainability, to preserve fisheries in the country and the Gulf region in general.

Additionally, Al Menhali hailed the valuable initiatives launched by the ministry in this regard. She added that ADFCA's contribution to the resolution supports the UAE's efforts to protect its natural resources and achieve a sustainable agriculture sector.