The government’s decision to ban the export of Omani fish to the UAE was “revoked” after over 400 fishermen held a sit-in at Khasab demanding the reversal of the decision, yesterday.
Recently, the government had imposed a ban on exporting Omani fish to the UAE and the decision was scheduled to come into effect from yesterday.
“As most of the citizens in Khasab depend on fish-related business, the decision was a blow to them,” a local involved in the trade said. “As the fish in Khasab are of high quality and command a high price, the fishermen are not be able to find local buyers. So, they are forced to export them. If the government imposes a ban on it, then how can we survive?”
An eyewitness told Times of Oman: “The fishermen gathered near Khasab Port and blocked the roads. A huge blockade was created due to the sit-in.”
Roads were blocked from 8:30am to 1:30pm. Besides the strike, the increase in the traffic flow due to the opening of a supermarket also created chaos in Khasab area.
According to sources, the Khasab Wali held talks with the striking fishermen to resolve the issue. But the fishermen were not ready to budge for the settlement formula put forward by the Wali.
Later, the strike came to an end when the Wali ‘assured’ them that the decision to ban the fish export would be revoked.
Access to Khasab by land was virtually impossible until a modern coast road was built, which allows fast access from the UAE, making Khasab a popular weekend destination for people living in the Emirates.