AMMAN —
The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (
ASEZA) has decided to extend the cessation
of fishing decision for a period of 60 days, as of Wednesday, sparking anger
and resentment among Jordan’s fishermen.
اضافة اعلان
"This decision will have a great
negative impact on almost all fisherman,” said Mahmoud Ayyad, a fisherman, in
an interview with Jordan News.
"Many
of the fishermen are youth who need to work to get money,” he added. “This is
their only job and they cannot live without it. We have been suffering because
of the coronavirus pandemic and now we have to work to compensate."
"This
is not the right time for this decision," he said. "They could have
limited the space given for us for fishing, but not prevent us from fishing
altogether. Most of my colleagues are not happy with this decision and they
have called for an urgent meeting to see what they can do."
Ayyad
claimed that "nearby towns just like Taba and Eilat, for example,
prevent fisherman sometimes from fishing, but that happens for approximately
two months only; not more than that. They determine the period in advance and
they do not extend the time once again, because they know that the decision
will not be satisfying for fisherman."
A source
from inside ASEZA told Jordan
News that "a meeting was held today at the authority with the
fishermen to discuss the dimensions and impacts of the decision and to try to
find a mutually satisfactory decision."
"We
tried to compensate the fishermen for the last two months by giving them JD400
per month," the source said. "We will be doing the same thing for the
next two months too."
The ban started
on April 4, in an attempt to preserve Aqaba’s marine life.
The
source described the fragile balancing act
ASEZA maintains between its
fishermen trying to make a living and Aqaba’s marine life.
"We
do not want them to lose. The thing is that we have to pay more attention to
the wildlife,” the source added. “We in Aqaba have rare and special species of
fish and it is our role to protect them and make them grow and reproduce.”
Bader
Yasin, president of the Fishermen's Association, explained to Jordan News that "fisheries’ advisers from different countries have previously visited
Aqaba and advised us not to fish during the period between January and April
and in shallow areas only."
"Jordanian
authorities have prevented us from fishing in June. You cannot imagine how bad
this decision was: fishermen wait for June to fish as it is the best month for
fishing," Yasin said.
"Our conditions are really bad
because of the pandemic, and we did not expect that they will be even worse and
we will be prevented from fishing."
Yasin
claimed that "only 94 fishermen out of 221 received compensation while the
others suffer from lack of money."
"We
were allowed to fish just for two days in the beginning of this month and then
the authorities decided to extend the period of banning fishing. No one had
expected this decision and we can say it is a shock for all,” he said.
"We
had a meeting with ASEZA this morning, and they have promised us to review the
decision, but these are all just promises, let us wait and see what will
happen."
The
decision, according to a previous statement issued by the authority, was made
for the purpose of preserving the fish resources in the Gulf of Aqaba and
increasing their reproduction, which will be reflected in the availability of
suitable quantities of fish for fishing.
The
statement also indicated that the decision was also based on the instructions
regulating fishing and aquaculture in the Gulf of Aqaba No. (G/1) for the year
2020 and its annexes, and for the purposes of protecting the marine environment
and fisheries in the Gulf.
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