'Assembly points' should be set up near the main fishing harbours in the country to collect fish under the supervision of an independent entity to regulate the sale process involving fishermen and traders, the Central Municipal Council (CMC) has recommended.
At its latest biweekly meeting, the council suggested this to the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) with the aim of avoiding the "extra costs" involved in transporting fish to consumers and ultimately helping reduce the final retail price.
Besides, the CMC recommended that the minimum prices set for fish in the public auction yards should be allowed to change according to the season and the abundance or scarcity of catch throughout the year.
This way, the prices of fish will be decided by market factors such as demand and supply and not be controlled artificially by traders, it felt.
In addition, a study should be conducted to increase the currently approved profit margin with a percentage that would not exceed 50%. This percentage should be also subject to constant change to provide a fair evaluation of the efforts exerted by fishermen and traders and simultaneously maintain the stability of fish retail prices in the local market.
Further, the council suggested that the MME create fish markets near the harbours to reduce the transportation costs involved, which would reflect positively on fish prices.
Planting trees alongside different highways in the country was another topic on the agenda of the CMC at the meeting.
The council recommended that the MME conduct a study on planting trees on both sides of highways at a number of phases, taking into consideration that these trees are suitable for the Qatari environment and can survive in the local climatic conditions, particularly with regard to irrigation and maintenance needs.
The council also asked that a CMC member be included in the tree-planting team to voice the views of the council on related issues.
The CMC stressed that it wants to make roads in the country more beautiful and use trees to block blowing sand from accumulating on roads in windy conditions.
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