10.12 billion cubic meters of seawater for cooling consumed in five years

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Fishermen Union said in a statement it has no connection with a video circulating online and showing coastguards chasing amateur fishermen in Doha. The union said that the violators are a group of boat owners who were fishing illegally, and the union had warned several times about the dangers of the actions that owners of such boats are committing, in continuous violations that affect fish stocks. The statement said the union is keen on safeguarding marine environment and expressed satisfaction about what authorities are doing against violators, adding that the union informs fishermen to comply with Amiri decree 46/1980, which aims towards sustained growth and production.

The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) had warned in a statement released last June that illegal fishing had grave consequences on biological diversity and sustainability of fish stocks. "Greedy fishermen who do not abide by fishing laws and regulations were unfairly making gains at the expense of their law-abiding peers," head of the aquaculture program at the KISR Dr Mohsen Al-Husseini lamented in a press statement on the occasion of International Day for the Fight Against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. They also encouraged others to violate law, he said, adding that such practices negatively impact ecosystem and marine life due to the fishing of young fish, shrimps and other marine species especially in the protected areas.

Husseini stressed the need to stop such practices which were threatening the fish stock. Efforts by the international community to ensure the sustainability of fisheries are being seriously compromised by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities are responsible for the loss of 11-26 million tons of fish each year, which is estimated to have an economic value of $10-23 billion.

Water cuts

The Ministry of Electricity and Water's assistant undersecretary for water operations and maintenance said new water lines have been connected with existing pipes on Al-Ghous Street in Bayan and Mishref in coordination with the Public Authority for Roads and Transportation. He said the ministry prepared an integrated report regarding water cuts which happened in Bayan as a result of the works, with cooperation between various departments and water emergency centers, including Salmiya emergency center. The ministry isolated water from the current lines, then reopened them after the connections were made, it explained.

Cooling water

State department and private companies consumed nearly 10.12 billion cubic meters of seawater for cooling during the five years period from 2013/2014 to 2017/2018, informed sources said. Consumption rose in the past three years from 1.9 billion cubic meters to more than 2 billion cubic meters by the end of fiscal year 2017/2018. The sources said revenues of Public Authority for Industry (PAI) from seawater for cooling were in second place in the items of PAI revenues, which reached KD 10.23 million out of the total revenue of KD 87.7 million for 2017/2018.

Collect rent

Figures and financial data reveal government efforts are continuing to collect rent due to the state. Figures show that rent collected from industrial, occupational and commercial lots, in addition to fees and delay fines during the five-year period from 2013/2014 to 2017/2018 reached KD 234.4 million. 2017/2018 saw the highest amount collected, as the Public Authority for Industry (PAI) collected KD 61.96 million from industrial lots. Rent from occupational, commercial and service lots rose from KD 12.99 million to KD 35.8 million in 2017/2018.

Grievance petitions

Seventeen companies submitted grievance petitions at the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) as they want to compete for the tender for the second stage of the project of constructing and maintaining the car parking, service buildings and roads leading to the new terminal at Kuwait International Airport, an informed source at the Ministry of Public Works said. The ministry is considering the qualifications of these companies prior to sending the result to CAPT to declare the winning companies, the source added.

By Meshaal Al-Enezi and A Saleh