The Ministry of Agriculture

The Ministry of Agriculture and its relevant partners undertake the conservation of marine habitats along the coastlines of Saudi Arabia. This task is carried out through implementing of the by-law of hunting, investment and protection of living marine resources according to the Royal Decree No 9/m of 27-3-1408 H.

The executive regulation of this by-law includes several articles to ensure the protection of living marine resources and their sustainable use for the generations to come. The Ministry has also set up several regulations and decisions such as:

• Ban of fishing of sea cucumbers, all shells, oysters, sponges as well as sea urchins.
• Ban of fishing using sea rifles (guns).
• Ban of industrial fishing within the inner area of Farasan Island, except by using hooks.
• Ban of using sea –bed net, due to its bad impact on coral reefs.
• In addition, the Ministry has also developed several regulations related to limitation of boats length, as well as number of working crew.