Shrimp Ban in Saudi Arabia Begins with Hefty Fines for Breach

The annual six-month ban on shrimp fishing on the Gulf coast began on Saturday in Saudi Arabia. Any fisherman who breached the ban will be obliged to pay the heavy fine of up SR10,000 ($2,700). The ban allows shrimp species to reproduce, conserves stocks and guards against overfishing, according to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture.

The agreement was signed by Prince Saud bin Talal, adviser and general supervisor at the ministry’s agency for housing support and solutions and international cooperation management, and Dr. Adam Boulokos, the Kingdom’s resident representative at the UNDP.

The Housing Ministry signed a memorandum of cooperation with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The UNDP, in cooperation with the Housing Ministry, is working on the development of an action plan that includes the participation of the nonprofit sector, a comprehensive review of the current policies, legislation, regulations, and governance of the development housing sector to promote nonprofit governmental associations in the field, in addition to a spatial analysis to determine the locations of development housing projects.

This step is essential to increase Saudi Arabia’s farmed shrimp output as part of an ambitious aquaculture development program.

The program is working with the private sector to achieve a total aquaculture production target of 600,000 tons by 2030 with a budget of SR1.3 billion through to 2021-22.

Shrimps are valued differently as per their quantity and size, with a 30 kg box of shrimp valued at SR500, medium-sized shrimp between SR600-800 and large varieties worth more than SR1,100 per box. Making Shrimp fishing is an important economic activity.

Ali Al-Shaikihi, CEO of the National Fisheries Development Program, told that the ministry has instituted a Vision 2030 plan to develop local markets and products, improve infrastructure to support aquacultures such as hatcheries and feed mills, and introduce R&D programs to increase productivity.