The marine Protection Department at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has been making several achievements to maintain the well-being of the local marine environment and ecosystems and protect the biodiversity in the country.
During the second quarter of this year, the department spent 20 hours in tours in deep sea diving across various key locations in the local waters. It also spent 68 hours in various surprise inspection tours within the sea, besides 3,361 hours spent on daily field inspection tours.
The department spent a total of 3,404 hours during the second quarter of the year carrying out various intensive and regular inspection and monitoring tours across various sites in the local waters.
The department spotted 148 different violations during the same period, in addition to 25 violations regarding fishing cages, 11 violations for using long fishing lines, two regarding fishing tools, 86 fishing nets, and six violations for using non-standard spotlights and illegal lights. There were a total of 278 related violations spotted during the period.
Further, the department conducted five study surveys on related issues, issued 829 reports through the various marine units it has, with a total of 834 reports made during the period.
The department received 36 calls and requests that included 17 regarding encroachments and violations, 11 reports, five applications for services, and three inquiries.
The department also took part at 14 different public workshops and campaigns to raise public awareness in different related topics. These included three training workshops, four cleaning campaigns, three inspection campaigns and four work meetings.
