Ban on shrimping ends today

Manama : Today is the last day of the annual ban on shrimping, which came into effect on March 15. Fresh shrimps will be again sold openly in all local markets beginning tomorrow.

Implemented by a ministerial resolution issued by Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf on March 7, the ban was initially supposed to be in force for six months. But on July 10, the Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa ordered to reduce it to four months, considering the pleas of local fishermen, whose livelihoods have been affected by the ban.

During the weekly Cabinet session back then, the Premier issued directives to the authorities to take the necessary procedures, stressing that that the coming shrimping ban seasons should coincide with those in other Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Subsequently, Minister Khalaf on Wednesday issued Resolution 101 of 2017, officially lifting the ban on August 1. The resolution was published in the Gazette on Thursday and stipulated that Agriculture and Marine Resources Undersecretary should implement the decision.