A number of owners and officials of fish grinding factories in the governorates of Hadramaut and Al-Mahra expressed their deep dissatisfaction with the decision of the Minister of Fisheries, Major General Salem Al-Socotra, which ordered the suspension of the work of fish powder and oil factories, indicating that the decision lacks real and logical justifications.

The director of one of the grinding factories - who preferred to remain anonymous - told the Al-Fanous platform that the decision of the Minister of Fisheries Resources to stop the grinding factories was based on the recommendations of a ministerial committee that claimed that the fish waste grinding factories harm fish stocks and the sustainability of the marine environment.

He indicated that this ministerial committee was based on a malicious and false complaint submitted by influential people who own competing fish factories, who believe that they are harmed by the work of the milling factories. He stressed the factory’s keenness to preserve fish stocks and their full readiness to cooperate with the ministry to implement any measures that guarantee the sustainability of resources. Fish.

He stressed that the decision of the Minister of Socotra to stop the milling factories is unjust and unjustified and lacks any real and scientific reasons and justifications. He pointed out that the claim that the milling factories constitute a waste of fish wealth is false and absolutely untrue, pointing out that the milling factories benefit from the fish waste that Not suitable for human consumption, such as fish of low quality, or those that have no commercial value in the market, in the fish powder and oil industry.

He added that the presence of fish powder and oil factories provides an additional outlet for fishermen to sell their products, which contributes to the stability of fish prices and enhances the competitiveness of the factories in global markets.

The source denied the allegations that claim, in his words, that factories deplete natural fish stocks, stressing that such allegations lack scientific evidence and are not based on approved studies, pointing out that determining the impact of factories on fish stocks requires precise scientific studies conducted by competent authorities using tools. Advanced.

A large number of owners of milling factories in the governorates of Hadramaut and Al-Mahra called on the Minister of Fisheries Resources to urgently stop this decision, indicating that its continuation will cause serious material damage not only to the factories, but also to fishing and the national economy in general, and thousands of families whose breadwinners work in the country will be harmed. Grinding factories.

It is noteworthy that the Prime Minister’s Office had directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Trade, as well as the governors of Hadramaut and Al-Mahra, to take the necessary measures to stop fish grinding factories, based on a memorandum submitted by the Minister of Fisheries to the Prime Minister, which recommended stopping the grinding factories because they violated the purpose of their establishment, within the Ministry’s description. .