Dibba Bay’s Friend of the Sea

AWARD CEREMONY

On the 17th of October, EDA was invited to Dibba Bay’s Friend of the Sea Award Ceremony. Friend of the Sea is the leading global certification standard for products and services that respect and protect the marine environment. Dibba Bay is the first farm in the Middle East to grow gourmet oysters and is located on the East Coast of the UAE in Dibba where they grow millions of oysters in the pristine, and nutrient-rich waters of Fujairah.

Ramie Murray, the CEO of Dibba Bay made the opening speech, “Since our founding we’ve always worked very hard to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to protect the environment, and today I’m personally very proud that we’ve received this third-party certification and verification that what we’re doing, we’re doing in the right way, and helping our surrounding environment in the process.

One of our main projects we are doing is recycling the shells, so we’re not just sending oysters off to market, we’re also collecting the empty shells back from the restaurants, and the programme we have is to put the shells back into the ocean to enhance the marine environment. This is to promote general marine growth, and the local oyster species. We’re very humbled that we’ve been recognised by Friend of the Sea.”

Ramie introduced Paolo Bray, the Founder and Director of Friend of the Sea who went on to explain that to be a certified Friend of the Sea institution, aquaculture facilities must meet strict sustainable policies, waste management regulations, and social responsibilities. The Friend of the Sea certification covers Dibba Bay’s sustainable aquafarming for oysters, covering the Crassostrea gigas species. The certification also covers Dibba Bay’s packing and export operations with traceability being a key focus.

Friend of the Sea’s Sustainable Aquaculture Certification criteria involves an environmental impact assessment which must confirm no impact on critical habitat, compliance with water quality parameters, no use of harmful antifouling nor growth hormones, compliance with water quality management, social accountability, and continuous improvement of waste and energy management.

Ramie also introduced The Fujairah Research Center’s Marine Research Specialist, Sabhah Alhmoudi who made a presentation on their work and how they and the Fujairah Environment Authority have assisted Dibba Bay. Rami explains, “It has been very important to have that relationship with the local authorities, to make sure that everything we are doing is in line with federal law. We have a lot of oversight which we welcome, which is very important to sustainable farming.”

The introductions were followed by a tour of the onshore farm facility to show everyone how the oysters are harvested.

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To learn more about Dibba Bay visit: www.dibbabay.com