Two distinct fishing grounds are identified for lansh (a local word derived from ‘launch') boats deploying gargoor fish traps. The fishing ground stretching west from Sir Abu Nu'air is exclusively visited by lansh boats from Free Port in Abu Dhabi. Because of the distance they need to travel, fishermen undertake 3–4 trips per month, with each trip lasting on average 3.5 days. They usually deploy the maximum number of 125 gargoors (garagir) each trip.

Wholesale value landing by lansh boats

The total wholesale value of fish landed by lansh boats deploying garagir in Abu Dhabi Emirate was estimated at 33 million AED in 2008. Hamour (Epinephelus coioides), shaari (Lethrinus nebulosus) and jesh (Carangidae) comprised the majority, accounting for 52%, 18% and 16% of the total wholesale value, respectively.

Abu Dhabi Free Port was the principal landing site, making up 74% of the total wholesale value of fish landed by lansh boats.

Lansh Boats & Gargoor Fishing Method

Lanshes are traditionally built wooden dhows ranging from 12–22 metres in length that are equipped with inboard diesel engines. There are around 350 lansh boats active in Abu Dhabi Emirate that fish from their main home ports in Abu Dhabi (Free Port) and on Dalma Island.

The gargoor is a dome-shaped wire trap, which is usually baited with a mixture of bread and dried fish and sunk for a period of 5–20 days. In 2003, fisheries management regulations were imposed in Abu Dhabi Emirate that allowed licensing of gargoor only to fishermen on lansh boats, and a maximum of 125 gargoor per boat.

Note: Commercial fishing is prohibited from taking place within 500 metres of active oil and natural gas concessions or within 3 nautical miles of islands. Due to the inaccuracies that can result from generating an overlay map using raw fishing data, it may incorrectly appear that some of the prohibited areas are actively fished.