Regional Symposium on Groupers inaugurated in Abu Dhabi

Grouper, locally known as Hamour, is an integral part of UAE national identity and heritage. Fisheries provide a source of income, employment and food for many citizens of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. However, the status of groupers globally is alarming as twenty species of grouper are currently threatened with extinction.

The symposium is being organized to discuss and review the current status of key grouper resources in the Gulf region. Gathered experts will aim to establish an integrated system of monitoring, assessment and management to conserve grouper resources.

Speaking at the opening session, H.E Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of EAD, said:

"Archaeological studies have indicated that the grouper was an important component in the daily diet of our ancestors since the year 7500" he added that until today grouper is still the preferred fish and it is considered the most important in the region."

"Abundance indices suggest that stock sizes in 2002 declined by around 90% in the south of the Arabian Gulf and more than 95% in the Gulf of Oman, compared with levels in 1978," he warned in his speech.

"There is an urgent need to coordinate efforts to manage and evaluate our shared resources, exchange knowledge, experiences and information and to raise awareness on grouper conservation and management issues," he added.

"Our fisheries are under siege from fleet expansions and increased vessel-fishing power," added Thabit Al Abdessalaam, Director of Biodiversity Sector-Marine Environment of Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi.

"Furthermore, the advent of a growing tourism industry has augmented the use of fisheries and marine resources for recreation. Increasingly also, marine and coastal habitats are being subjected to tremendous stress as a result of unprecedented urban and industrial development in the region leading to degradation and loss of habitat, changes in marine environments, and reduce biodiversity," Al Abdessalaam added.

On the first day of the symposium, the keynote speaker Prof. Yvonne Sadovy from Division of Ecology & Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, gave her address on Grouper fisheries as a valuable but vulnerable reef fishes. Dr. Jennifer Mcilwain also delivered a paper on patterns and processes that drive grouper abundance and distribution in Oman.

The historic exploitation of groupers in the Arabian Gulf, from an archaeological perspective, was highlighted by Dr. Mark Beech, Cultural Landscapes Manager, Historic Environment Department at Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.

Dr. Mohsen Al Husaini of Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research presented a paper on the age, growth, and assessment of Hamour in Kuwaiti waters. A Preliminary Study for Grouper Fishery in Kingdom of Bahrain was presented by Jassim Ahmed Al-Qaseer from the General Directorate for the Protection of Marine Resources, Bahrain.