The Commercial Value of Fish at Fasht Ad-Dibal and its Associated Biota in the Qatari Waters, Arabian Gulf

Abstract

The present study is an attempt to study the fish diversity of Fasht Ad-Dibal in the north-western coast of Qatar. Thirty three species belonging to 25 families were caught using gill nets, gargoors (metal traps) and hand line. Most of these fish are of economical importance. The study also revealed that Fasht Ad-Dibal is an important nursery ground for a number of economically important species such as Lethrinus spp. (Family: Lethrinidae), Siganus canaliculatus (Family: Siganidae) and Gerres oyena (Family: Gerreidae). The fishing methods used gave different results 32 species were caught by gill nets, 21 species by traps (gargoor) and 20 species by hand-lines. The species caught by the latter 2 methods were caught by the former except for the fish Arothron stellatus caught only by gargoor trabs. The community structure of macrobenthic biota of Fasht Ad-Dibal showed some variation between stations. Station FDN sustained the highest diversity recording with 31 species recorded, station FDW with 21 species, while FDS and FDE each with 16 species. Molluscs form the main component of the catch (18 species), followed by 8 algal species, 3 seagrasses, 4 polychaete, 8 crabs and one isopod.