By Abdu Alwani

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JAZAN — Saudi fishermen in the southern Saudi province of Jazan are complaining of many obstacles that might force them to leave the profession and join the list of unemployed people. In addition, the fishermen face legal problems because of their inability pay the monthly installments to the agricultural fund.

They point out that the high cost of fuel has made the profession unprofitable. Gasoline costs them SR200 each day, but the income generated from

catching fish is way less, they said.

They also criticized the decision by the authorities to set their fishing zone to three and a half miles away from the shore. They point out that big fishing companies are eroding their business because they leave nothing in the sea for them.

They called on the related authorities to interfere and fix their situation as it is getting worse day after day.

Abdullah Marie, a Saudi fisherman, said that the condition that limited their fishing area to 3.5 miles from the shore has kept them away from where the catch is. It put them in deep waters as their fishing nets cannot go deep and catch fish. They said they need a special type of fishing net in order to fish in deep waters and because of their financial situation, they cannot afford to buy such fishing nets.

Salem Al-Hakami, a fisherman with a bachelor’s degree, said it is useless to fish now. He took a boat and fishing equipment from the agricultural fund to practice fishing.

“These boats consume a large amount of gasoline. We pay up to SR200 for fuel per day and the income generated from fishing in one day often does not reach that level,” he said.

Al-Hakami called on the authorities to provide more facilities for fishermen so they should not leave this profession and become unemployed.

Abdullah Toroosh, another fisherman, said fishing in the past generated a lot of income. The new ban on fishing close to the shore has forced them to go deep into the where no fish are found, leading to a decline in their income.