Saudi Gazette QATIF ? The annual shrimping season in the Arabian Gulf started this month with still low harvest, according to the Eastern Province Fishery Research Center here. ?It is always a dull catch during the first month, but fishermen are hopeful the harvest will equal last year and even better,? an official of the research center said. The shrimping season, which started Aug. 1, will last until Jan. 2012. During the annual shrimping season Saudi shrimps harvest hovers between 4,000 tons to over 5,000 tons in both the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea. In contrast, the country?s shrimp aquaculture industry, which is now highly developed, has average annual production of over 8,000 tons. The initial quality of landed shrimps in the fish markets of Dammam, Sihat and Qatif is still a mixture of large and small shrimps. The retail price per kg is between SR22 to SR23. The bigger variety, such as the tiger prawns, are priced about SR27 per kg. In recent years, the shrimp catch has been gradually declining, but could be increased by better control of eliminating the harvesting of juvenile shrimps in shallow water areas by artisan vessels and prevention of illegal fishing on the main shrimp nursery areas, according to research center. __
