Country review: Qatar

Gary Morgan
FAO Consultant, Fishery Policy and Planning Division, Fisheries Department
September 2004

INTRODUCTION

Qatar is situated on a peninsula on the western side of the Gulf that separates Iran from the Arabian Peninsula and has a small coastline to that Gulf. The country shares resources with its close neighbors of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, with the definition of its sea boundaries with Bahrain having only recently been settled. Because of its location and the regional distribution of many of the key species taken by the commercial fishery in Qatar, independent management of the stocks of fish in Qatari waters is difficult and regional co-operation is necessary for effective management of many species.

Like other countries in the region, the sea area and coastline of Qatar is characterized by extreme meteorological and hydrological conditions with water temperatures reaching over 33° C during summer months (air temperatures of over 50° C), very high evaporation rates and high salinities. Seasonal variation in hydrological parameters is also high with water temperatures varying from around 19° C in winter to 32° C in summer.

The fisheries of Qatar are all artisanal in nature, after the closure of the semi-industrial shrimp fishery in 1993. Periodic assessment of the shrimp stocks of Qatar’s waters are undertaken but, to date, these assessments have not indicated sufficient resources to justify the re-opening of this resource to commercial exploitation.

The fishing industry in Qatar currently consists of 515 licensed, small vessels^[354] that utilize a variety of gear to take a range of demersal and pelagic species. Fish trapping is the most common fishing method and targets groupers and emperors in addition to other minor demersal species. These two species groups account for around 42 percent of total fish production in Qatar of approximately 8 600 tonnes (in 2001). Seasonal trolling and handlining for Spanish mackerel (Scombermorus spp.) is also a significant activity of the fleet and, in 2001, accounted for around approximately 1 019 tonnes (12 percent) of total fish production.

Fisheries management in Qatar is rudimentary although vessels and fishermen are licensed. A major advancement in bringing fishing capacity under control was the cessation of issuing new fishing licenses in 1998. This resulted in a fleet that was fixed at 515 vessels. However, no gear restrictions were introduced and no restrictions were placed on vessel size and, as a result, new and larger replacement vessels have been introduced into the fleet. These larger vessels carry and operate larger numbers of fish traps^[355] in particular and employ a greater number of crew and hence fishing effort has increased in recent years.

Unlike neighboring countries, imports of fisheries products to Qatar have only risen slowly from 1 227 tonnes in 1995 to 1 679 tonnes in 2001. This is primarily a result of local increasing demand being met by increasing local production. However, this increased local production (particularly of species taken by fish traps) appears to be a result of increasing fishing effort. The challenge for Qatar may be to bring that fishing effort under control before it results in over-exploitation of its key commercial species.

POLICY FRAMEWORK

The national, or federal, authority with responsibility for fisheries management is the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture. The structure of the Ministry is such that the Fisheries Department of the Ministry is responsible for fisheries affairs, including policy, licensing and collation and collection of statistics. The Fisheries Department does not undertake any fisheries research although specific studies have been commissioned in the past.

The subsidization of local fisheries remains an important part of Government management policy and measures and is included as a specific objective of fisheries management policy. Only Qatari nationals who are vessel owners benefit from these subsidies since foreign workers on the vessels are engaged on a contract basis.

The requirement to develop fisheries management plans is not contained in any legislation and no fisheries management plans currently exist for any fishery. As a result, policy directions for management of individual fisheries are not explicit and are often subject to change through political or administrative influences.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture is also the agency with responsibility for international fisheries issues. However, regional co-operation is weak although informal discussions on fisheries management issues with the neighboring countries of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have taken place. Qatar ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 2002 but has not yet ratified the UN Fish Stock Agreement or the FAO Compliance Agreement.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Responsibility for fisheries management in Qatar lies with the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture although national and regional environmental authorities (particularly the Qatar Supreme Council for the Environment and Natural Reserves and the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment, ROPME) have influence in management of marine areas^[356].

Qatar has well-developed environmental protection legislation and this often has significant influence in fisheries and marine management issues, including issues related to marine reserves, administration of port areas, and coastal development. The coastal development legislation and processes is particularly important in impacting on fisheries resources and their management, given the extensive coastal development and urbanization that is occurring in Qatar.

The Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture administers the basic national fisheries legislation in Qatar, which is contained in Law No.4 of 1983 for the use and conservation of marine resources. Emiri Decree No. 17 of 1993 subsequently amended this basic fisheries Law. Various Ministerial Decisions and directives implement specific actions under the basic law, including the Ministerial decision of 1993 to ban shrimp fishing in Qatari waters.

STATUS OF THE FISHERIES

The fisheries of Qatar are all artisanal in nature and utilize traditional dhows and small outboard-powered fiberglass vessels to take both pelagic and demersal fish species. The fishery is a multi-species, multi-gear fishery with vessels using fish traps (locally known as ‘gargoor’), gillnets, handlines and troll lines to take a variety of fish, often on a seasonal basis. Fish traps are the most common fishing gear and account for the majority of the fish catch. Groupers, emperors and jacks are the most common component of the fish trap catch, with groupers (Epinephelus spp.) and emperors comprising around 42 percent of total Qatar fish production in 2001.

Total landings and the number of fishermen have increased steadily over the last 20 years, with landings doubling since 1995 from 4 271 t to 8 863 t in 2001. The increase in landings has generally been for all species, and most likely reflects an increase in fishing effort for most fisheries sectors.

Qatar introduced a freeze on the issuing of new fishing licenses in 1998 and this has assisted in controlling fishing capacity. However, there were no restrictions introduced on fishing gear limitation or the size of vessels. As a result, replacement vessels of a larger size and carrying more fishing gear (particularly fish traps) and crew have entered the fishery in recent years. This has resulted in significant, but unmeasured, increases in fishing effort despite the restrictions on the issuing of new licenses. Such effort increases have resulted in increased landings (particularly for species such as grouper that are taken by fish traps) and have enabled Qatar to meet increased domestic demand from local production. However, with no robust stock assessment having been undertaken for any of the major commercial species, it is uncertain to what extent these fishing effort increases can be sustained before landings of major species decline. Certainly, catch rates are declining as fishing effort is increasing, particularly in the fish trap fishery.

Illegal fishing is, like other countries in the region, a major problem for management authorities. Driftnets are banned, but continue to be used routinely by fishermen. A Fisheries Enforcement Committee was established in 1997 to address the issue of illegal fishing, but this still remains a significant problem.

The characteristics of Qatar’s fisheries are shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1
Characteristics of the largest fishery (by volume) of Qatar

*Value in 2002 U.S. Dollars.

Note: Qatar has no industrial fisheries and hence the multi-species, multi-gear coastal artisanal fishery represents over 98 percent of total fisheries production in Qatar. There is currently no data on the developing recreational fisheries sector.

In summary, increasing, but unmeasured, fishing effort as well as environmental issues such as land reclamation and dredging are emerging as significant issues in Qatar’s fisheries. However, the lack of a detailed time series of data on landings, size composition and fishing effort, together with the shared nature of the stocks and the lack of comprehensive and regular assessments of the status of the major fish stocks, makes precise assessment and definition of required remedial action difficult.

MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY

Qatar was one of the first countries in the region to introduce management measures for its fisheries, particularly the once-important shrimp fishery. These management measures included closed areas, minimum mesh sizes and fishing capacity limitation through limited entry. However, declining catches and catch rates in the 1980s resulted in the closure of the fishery in 1993 and, to date, stocks have not recovered significantly enough for the Government to contemplate a re-opening of the fishery.

However, limited resources within the management authority have stifled research, policy development and enforcement for other fisheries that are of current importance and no formal management plans exist for any fishery. Input controls are used exclusively in Qatar’s fisheries and no fishery is managed by output controls. Gear restrictions such as minimum mesh sizes for gillnets, a ban on driftnets and size limits for major fish species are in place. Closed seasons and closed areas (a result of marine protected areas) are in place for a number of species, most notably a defined season for gillnetting of Spanish mackerel (Scombermorus spp). However, in all cases, compliance is limited.

Stakeholder participation in the development of fisheries policy and management measures is through traditional discussions, often directly with senior Government officials. In general, these discussions are often concerned with subsidies and any other management issue discussed often results in compromise solutions. Such stakeholder participation is limited to nationals only, who are the vessel owners and may or may not be actively engaged in fishing. The expatriate workers on the vessels are not involved in such dialogue on management measures.

COSTS AND REVENUES OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

No separate data is maintained by the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture on the costs that are directly attributable to fisheries management issues. However, over the past ten years, budgets for fisheries management has certainly stagnated as management activities decline.

A significant part of the fisheries budget within the Fisheries Department is utilized for the payment of subsidies to vessel owners. These subsidies are often at the discretion of the Minister and are often ad hoc in response to specific representations from fishers.

No separate budget is maintained for research services, which are mainly contracted by the Department of Fisheries on an ‘as needed’ basis.

Compliance is undertaken by the Coast Guard and by the Qatar Police, both of whom have the capacity to undertake at-sea inspections. Again, no separate accounting of compliance and enforcement costs is maintained within the Department of Fisheries. At-sea enforcement by the Coast Guard is also not accounted separately since fisheries-related issues are generally attended to during regular sea patrols for other purposes.

IMPLEMENTATION OF GLOBAL FISHERIES MANDATES AND INITIATIVES

Qatar ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 2002, at the same time as ratification of Part XI of the Convention related to deep seabed mining. Qatar has not ratified the UN Fish Stocks Agreement or the UN Compliance Agreement.

Although the Fisheries Department is aware of the content of initiatives such as the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the provisions of this, or other initiatives, have not been incorporated into national legislation.

The implementation of the provisions of International Plans of Action related to managing fishing capacity, IUU fishing, shark management and seabird by-catch in longline fisheries has not been pursued. As a result, no national plans of action for any of these issues are incorporated into national legislation.

PARTICIPATION IN REGIONAL FISHERY BODIES

Qatar is an active member of the Regional Commission on Fisheries (RECOFI) and participates in most of the meetings and working groups of the Commission. However, RECOFI has not pursued any regional management initiatives to date. As a result, Qatar, therefore, has not been required to incorporate regional fisheries management issues into its national legislation.

There is, however, no legal requirement within the Qatari fisheries legislation for fisheries management issues that may be adopted by RECOFI (or other regional body) to be incorporated into national legislation.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Qatar’s fisheries remain small, both in terms of overall landings and as a contribution to national GDP. However, despite this, Qatar has, in contrast to other countries in the region, succeeded in limiting imports of fish and fish products to meet increasing domestic demand and has, instead, been able to increase national production to meet this demand. This increased domestic production, however, seems to have occurred as a result of an increase in fishing effort (particularly in the fish trap fishery), despite Qatar’s efforts at limiting fishing capacity by imposing a freeze on the issue of new fishing licenses.

The absence of data on fishing capacity, stock assessments of the major commercial species and an understanding of the extent to which stocks are shared with other countries of the region make this increase in fishing effort particularly worrying since its impacts on the sustainability of Qatar’s fish stocks are uncertain.

Illegal fishing also poses a major and unique challenge to Qatar, given the small size and importance of its fishing industry. At the present time, illegal fishing is common because of the inability of the enforcement agency to adequately ensure full compliance with fisheries regulations. The small-scale and value of Qatar’s fisheries adds to this problem because it is simply not economical to expend significant money and resources on enforcement activities for such fisheries. In addition, the developing recreational fishing sector (currently estimated in excess of 1 000 vessels, most of which undertake some part-time fishing activity) is currently not monitored or controlled. Given current trends, it is conceivable that this recreational fishing sector may become more important than the commercial fishery within a short time and therefore management issues for this fishery need to be addressed as soon as possible.

REFERENCES

Anon. 2003. Qatar Country report to second RECOFI meeting, Muscat, May 2003.

APPENDIX TABLES

Current management of marine capture fisheries in Qatar

Use of fishery management tools within the three largest fisheries in Qatar

n.a: not applicable

Costs and funding sources of fisheries management within the three largest fisheries in Qatar

n.a: not applicable

Compliance and enforcement within the three largest fisheries in Qatar

n.a: not applicable

Capacity management within the three largest fisheries in Qatar

n.a: not applicable