Nothing could have prepared local fisherman, Abdullah Zaid Al Shehi, when he caught the Suss fish that weighed a hefty 56kg. “I eagerly wanted to catch the biggest fish to get ahead of the other fishermen in a local competition here in Ras Al Khaimah,” he said. Suss fish is also known as spotted shovel-nose ray. By the time he started pulling the fish, Shehi knew that he was in for a big surprise, “It was so heavy! To my surprise, I found this big Suss fish. It made my day and I won the title for the biggest fish.”
Suss is a very common fish in the UAE market which can grow up to 400cm long. A local Competition was launched back in October by RAK Municipality where fishermen who caught the heaviest fish are honored every week.
“A special committee follows the fishing activities on a daily basis to decide on the biggest, heaviest fish of the day, and the winner is announced by the weekend.” Also in October, another fisherman caught unusually large volume of fish which had to be transported by 50 vehicles to carry 50 tonnes of fish.
“The biggest catch in four years for the fish markets of the emirate”, said fisherman Ibrahim Al Shamali. The hoard of fish was caught at Shaam area – some 40km north of Ras Al Khaimah city.
Many local fishermen agree that the competition aimed to keep the UAE’s fishing heritage alive. “However, only local types of fish are allowed,” Abdullah Saeed, a local fisherman told.
