Emirati man catches rare Wahoo fish in Abu Dhabi

Emaduddin Khalil, Staff Reporter

An Emirati, Ahmed Jassim Al Hammadi, caught a 1.5 metres long Wahoo fish near the waters of Dalma Island in Abu Dhabi.

The presence and capture of this type of fish in the waters of the Arabian Gulf region is a precedent and is the first of its kind.

The rare fish is thin and has sharp-toothed and beak-like jaw and a pointed body that ends with a thin tail base and a crescent-shaped tail. It is also one of the fastest fish in the world.

The Wahoo fish, which weighs about 4 kilograms, belongs to the scombridae family and is found in all the world's tropical and subtropical waters, Al Hammadi said.

“During a three-day fishing trip near Dalma Island, accompanied by my brother Salem and a group of friends, I saw a Wahoo fish floating and diving into the sea at a depth of about 14 meters. We approached it and succeeded in catching it after two attempts,” he added. 

Hamad Matar Taryam poses with a huge tuna fish inside his boat in Fujairah.

Al Hammadi pointed out that the competent authorities contacted him to find out how he caught it in order to take the necessary measures to protect it, as it is the first time this fish is caught in the Arabian Gulf waters.

In September, Emirati fisherman Hamad Matar Taryam managed to catch a giant tuna fish weighing more than 100 kilogrammes, which got stuck in his net in the Fujairah Sea, after a two-hour battle to get it into his boat.

Hamas Matar, who practises fishing in the Fujairah Sea and the Arabian Sea, said that this kind of tuna fish is found in the Arabian Sea in this period of the year, noting that it has a high nutritional value.

The fish is one of the largest tuna fish that has been caught in fishermen’s nets for a long time. It is a 1.7-metre long and weighs more than 100 kilogrammes.

In January 2020, an Emirati national broke all records of satisfaction when he caught a huge shark. Eid Ahmad Suleiman from Fujairah shared a photo of him standing next to the shark hanging from a crane. The shark is over three metres long and is around 350kg.

Eid Ahmad Suleiman poses next to his prize catch.

The 51-year-old man from Fujairah caught the shark on his weekend fishing trip.

Suleiman said, “The catch of the fish happened by chance. I was surprised while pulling the hook and the rope was pulled back to the water. I held the hook strongly so that it did not escape, especially since the fish did not appear at the beginning.

It was at a depth of 200 metres, and I pulled the rope with all my strength. I was left shocked when I saw a big shark which was about to devour another small one but I got it out of the water and put it on the boat."

He added, “I am happy with what I did because catching a shark of this size is very rare in Fujairah.”