Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Arabian Peninsula with access to both the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, of which it represents most of the east coast. Despite the Saudi Arabian coastline in the Red Sea being three times longer than its Gulf coast, Saudi catches from both coasts are similar. The catches of Saudi Arabian fisheries in the Red Sea are presented from 1950 to 2010, based on data from various sources. This reconstruction was conducted separately for each fishery sector: artisanal, subsistence, industrial and recreational. The total catch of each sector was further divided into its component species or groups of species. The catch was low at the beginning of 1950s, about 7,000 t · year⁻¹, and grew only slowly. The major change in total Saudi Arabian catch occurred at the beginning of the 1980s, with the massive motorization of artisanal boats and the beginning of industrial fisheries. Peak catch, i.e., about 50,000 t · year⁻¹ occurred in the mid-1990s, after which catches decreased to about 40,000 t · year⁻¹ at the end of the 2000s. The artisanal fishery had the highest contribution to the total catch (64 %), followed by the industrial (23 %), subsistence (10 %) and recreational fisheries (3 %). While a large number of taxa were identified in the catch, few groups were dominant. The reconstructed catches were compared with the data Saudi Arabia reported to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and was found to be 1.5 times the catch reported by FAO on behalf of Saudi Arabia from 1950 to 2010. The major discrepancy occurred following the mid-1980s, because of the industrial fishery, which became very active then, and whose substantial discards remain unreported. The procedures and assumptions used here are clearly stated, because they may be useful for further research on specific aspects of the fishery, and to improve the catch time series presented herein.