RIYADH, 3 June 2005 — Saudi Arabia together with the seven members states of the Regional Organization for Protection of Marine Environment (Ropme) have finalized plans to launch several programs aimed at protecting the region’s rich marine environment.
The upcoming projects include a survey of marine environment in the region to be conducted by international experts, an improvement of the laboratories of member states and the monitoring of environmental changes.
The Ropme has also called for a timely response and analysis of fish deaths in the member countries.
“Citizens of Ropme member states will be trained to staff the organization’s remote sensing station, besides upgrading the facility and using an Iranian research ship for assessing the region’s marine environment,” said a statement released by Ropme, here yesterday.
Ropme has also been trying to unify efforts of individual member states including the Kingdom, “to check the mortality of fish and its health as food is high on our agenda.”
Annual per capita consumption of fish in Saudi Arabia alone has increased and similar trends have been observed in other countries too.
The Kingdom has four major fisheries including three on the Red Sea and one on the Arabian Gulf. Their total production amounts to 53,000 tons, with an annual increase of 4.5 percent.
Referring to measures to protect marine life, the Ropme said that all legislation will be in place shortly in all member countries to check pollution from offshore oil drilling operations and other activities, including the transport of hazardous substances.
On the marine protection front, the Kingdom has already stepped up efforts to protect marine life and its biodiversity. It has two important coasts along the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea and it is working on plans to set up more marine sanctuaries.
Saudi Arabia, which is home to a variety of marine and wildlife species, has a coastline stretching over 4,000 miles. It also houses over 1,280 fish species besides a number of animal species.
A joint Saudi-Japanese study has found a total of 1,400 marine species including corals, sea grass and algae, fish, benthos, marine mammals and turtles, mangrove vegetation and birds.
The study covered a 1,000-kilometer area from the north of Jeddah to the Gulf of Aqaba.
