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Help stop the illegal,
indiscriminate and inhuman fishing in Nuweiba !
Fishing by Bedouins is on the increase in Nuweiba,
especially along the beautiful reefs that run for
the half dozen kilometres along the east side of
Nuweiba from the Duna area down to MFO in the south.
In the olden days, a
single Bedouin, or maybe two, would throw a single
net into the water to form a semi-circular shape,
and then splash about in the water to drive the fish
into the net, resulting in half a dozen or so fish
of varying sizes being caught. Uneddible fish would
then be released unharmed back into the wild.
During the past few
years, a new trend has sprung up whereby a string of
nets, measuring often 30 metres or more, are hung
from the reefs into deep water or in the shallow
waters before the reefs. These nets are left for
days, or even weeks on end. Fish then get entangled
in the nets and die a slow, painful death. The
Bedouins then simply pop along once a day to collect
the dead fish, ( thus not risking any injuries to
themselves by trying to catch live fish ), and then
take them off to be sold. Uneddible fish are either
left in the net or discarded... afterall, why bother
as they are already dead ! The fish caught are not
for home consumption - no one will knowingly eat
dead fish - but are sold off to unsuspecting persons
at the Nuweiba Port area or in the Bedouin village
of Maizena. This really is the type of fishing that
needs to be banned immediately - it is cruel,
indiscriminate, poses health risks to persons buying
the dead fish and endangers the safety of swimmers
and snorkellers as often these nets encroach near or
at the beaches frequented by tourists. Furthermore,
when the nets are left too long they can become
permanently entangled in the reefs, especially after
any storm or rough weather, and thus can do
irreparable harm to the coral.
Nets connected together
and then strung over the reefs.
The nets are left for
days or weeks... as can be seen by the rubbish
collected in the nets.
Fish caught up in the
nets die a slow, painful death.
These fish will be sold
- despite them decomposing underwater in the warm
seas.
The nets are a threat to
the sealife and tourists swimming or snorkelling.
Fishermen openly fish
this way in clear view of tourists at the resorts in
Nuweiba but the authorities do not act.
Old nets become
entangled in the reefs.
Suffocating the coral
and other sealife.
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