Lawmakers seek to suspend fish ban

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Five MPs want Bahrain to suspend its ban on catching safi, shaari and andaq, saying the Iranian attacks have cut imported fish supplies and pushed market prices higher.

The urgent proposal calls for a temporary halt to Decision No. 2 of 2024, which bars the catch of the three species.

Its sponsors say the move is needed because strain on supply lines across the region has left less imported fish on sale and made local catch more important in keeping food supplies flowing for citizens and residents.

The proposal was put forward by Khalid Buanaq, Hisham Al Awadhi, Zainab AbdulAmeer, Ahmed Al Salloom and Mohammed Al Maarefi.

Buanaq said the call was driven by economic pressure and the political climate in the region, which had hit supply lines both directly and indirectly.

That, he said, had led to a drop in imported fish and a clear rise in prices on the local market.

“In these conditions, relying on local fish production has become necessary to keep the market stable and to make basic food goods available for citizens and residents,” he said.

He said the ban had been brought in to regulate fishing and protect marine stocks, but argued that keeping it in force now would add to the lack of fish in the market and drive prices higher.

“Keeping this decision in force in the current conditions could deepen the shortage in the markets and lead to further rises in prices,” he said. “That would weigh on consumers, above all with few other choices and import costs already high.”