With a view to addressing the problem of declining fish stocks, the U.A.E is aiming to boost the contribution of the aquafarming industry from 1% to 25%.

Aquafarming is the process of breeding, rearing and harvesting of plants and certain types of marine animals.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, aquaculture contributes to about 50% of the fish consumed worldwide.

Among the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, the U.A.E was the first to introduce aquafarming in 1984 having 10 aquafarms, 9 of which are operational.

The Shaikh Khalifa centre in Umm Al Qwain will provide fingerlings and juveniles of economically viable species to aquaculture farmers at economically viable costs. The Ministry of Environment and Water will help investors set up farms and promote self-sufficiency and will also bring technological know-how and the latest technology to farmers. The species in focus are hamour, Sobaity seabream,Sheim and Gabbit .

The goal is to repopulate the sea that has been exhausted by overfishing after focusing on studying and growing low survival rate species.

I hope that this innovative measure will not only achieve its aim of repopulating the waters but also, in the process, teach people to use the resources at their disposal more judiciously.