ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 14th Oct, 2019) Visitors to the Abu Dhabi International Boat Show will be able to partake in the premiere screening of "Our Sea, Our Heritage", a documentary that presents the state of the UAE’s fisheries and what’s being done to help them recover.
Produced by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, EAD, the 25-minute documentary captures a selection of emotional interviews with 22 fishermen, out of 300 conducted and who tell the story of the UAE fisheries in their own words, said a press release issued by the Environment Agency on Monday.
The documentary will be screening at EAD’s stand throughout the show from 16th to 19th October, and following that, will be available on EAD’s YouTube channel.
The documentary then goes on to share the findings of the UAE Sustainable Fisheries Programme, which was implemented by EAD and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and involved the most comprehensive boat-based fisheries resources assessment survey of the UAE’s Arabian Gulf waters - 250 days spent at sea.
"Our Sea, Our Heritage is a touching story filled with serious revelations about our fisheries, but it is also a story of hope. It reminds us that our seas have always nourished and sustained us and that we have an ongoing duty to protect our fish stocks for future generations. The interviews we conducted with fishermen demonstrate that the science we know corroborates with the traditional knowledge they hold – the UAE’s fisheries are severely overexploited due to overfishing and in need of major recovery," said Dr. Shaikha Al Dhaheri, Secretary-General of EAD.
Key actions recommended by EAD, as part of the recovery plan, include the implementation of management measures that will reduce pressure on fish stocks across both the commercial and recreational sectors, the enhancement of fish stocks through the development of a robust aquaculture sector, and the rehabilitation of fisheries habitats through the installation of artificial reefs as protected areas.
The plan’s 2030 timespan is reflective of the period the fisheries will take to recover if appropriate management measures are implemented; this benchmark is consistent with global recovery rates of around 12 years.
Our Sea, Our Heritage - available in Arabic and English - is the third documentary released by EAD this year. The first was "Back to the Wild", produced in collaboration with Image Nation Abu Dhabi. It traced the journey of Nya and her fellow Scimitar-horned Oryx as they return home to Chad after being extinct in the wild for over 25 years, part of EAD’s Scimitar-horned Oryx Reintroduction Project - the largest mammalian re-introduction effort in history.
Since it exclusively premiered on Quest Arabia, it has been screened at hundreds of events in eight countries.
The second documentary produced was the award-winning "Zayed’s Antarctic Lights", which screened on National Geographic-Abu Dhabi on Earth Day. It shone a light on the impact of global warming and climate change and is now showing on Etihad Airways in-flight entertainment and National Geographic-Abu Dhabi’s YouTube channel.
The EAD stand will be also showcasing the marine endangered species, the impact of human activities on the fish stock and the marine protected areas managed by the Agency within "Sheikh Zayed Protected Areas Network".
