JEDDAH – Saudi Arabia is trying not to miss any opportunity in the field of conservation of environment and living beings, whether it be through the establishment of marine protected areas, land or through the adoption of internal systems and accession to the concerned international agreements, a report in Al-Hayat said.
The last of those efforts is the Kingdom›s accession to the two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) regarding the “conservation of migratory sharks,” and “the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia.”
The MoU on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks is the first global instrument of its kind. At present, it is estimated that one-quarter of chondrichthyan species are threatened worldwide. Sharks are under serious threat all around the globe. Recent scientific studies show that the number of sharks being killed every year ranges between 63 and 273 million. The MoU is a legally non-binding international instrument. It aims to achieve and maintain a favorable conservation status for migratory sharks based on the best available scientific information and taking into account the socioeconomic value of these species for the people in various countries.
Currently 29 species of sharks are listed in the MoU. The objectives of the conservation plan include: Improving the understanding of migratory shark populations through research, monitoring and information exchange; ensuring that directed and non-directed fisheries for sharks are sustainable; ensuring to the extent practicable the protection of critical habitats and migratory corridors and critical life stages of sharks
Increasing public awareness of threats to sharks and their habitats, and enhance public participation in conservation activities; enhancing national, regional and international cooperation. In pursuing activities described under these objectives, signatories should endeavor to cooperate through regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), Regional Seas Conventions (RSCs) and biodiversity-related Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs).
The Kingdom has more than 367 species of living organisms, from mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and up to 8,600 species and varieties of migratory birds, but for species of fish and marine organisms, the number is close to 2,000 species living in the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf.
However, experts and specialists warn of the possibility of extinction of some of them due to various factors, such as poaching and environmental pollution.
Jeddah has recorded on the Red Sea coast a few months the death of large quantities of fish and the municipal council attributed the main cause to the marine and air pollution and burning tires, in addition to the landfill, noting that more than one locations in the province suffer from high pollution levels, especially industrial zones in the city.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Jeddah confirmed that it has one of the largest monitoring programs for this kind of fish in the world, by installing a large number of monitoring satellites devices on their fin, noting that overfishing in the Red Sea has reduced its presence.
The Kingdom is also home to thousands of migratory birds during the season between the three continents: Europe, Asia, Africa. As for the list of birds recorded in Saudi Arabia, they are about 488 different species, perhaps the most prominent: hawks, eagles, raven, owls, the nightingale, woodpecker, ostriches, swans, geese, and ducks and other wild birds, but there are 15 species endangered globally.
