Over the years, I’ve heard of many ideas for new projects that seem, at first glance, to be utterly impractical. If they’re technically feasible, but enormously expensive, they can still be done. As we have seen with the world’s largest artificial port, at Jebel Ali, there are occasions when such expenditure can prove to be perfectly viable.
Some other schemes raise an eyebrow – often because they seem to overlook other constraints, like geography and the environment.
A few years ago, there was a short-lived covering of snow on the UAE’s highest peak and talk began about creating the first ski resort in the Arabian peninsula. I couldn’t help thinking that it didn’t make much sense. How often have we had natural snowfall here in the last hundred years? A couple of times? Another project, for a covered ski-slope on Jebel Hafeet, also seemed impractical.
Quite apart from the engineering task of carving great chunks out of the mountainside, degrading this important geological feature, the cost of construction and of maintaining suitable temperatures in the covered structure would surely be economically unfeasible and run contrary to any stated government policy of energy conservation. I’m glad we’ve heard little of these two schemes recently.
My sceptical eyebrow is raised at the moment because of the plan by local fish-farming enterprise Asmak to launch salmon farming here. According to the announcements late last year, the first fish should arrive in the shops by midsummer.
I’m in favour of fish farming. Stocks of commercially important fish species like the hammour in the Arabian Gulf are declining. If they can successfully be raised in fish farms, that’s to be welcomed. The same applies to other tropical fish, whether marine species like sea bream or freshwater species like tilapia. But salmon? They’re used to cold water and cool temperatures. They grow perfectly well, with the right management, in colder waters off the coasts of Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Chile and Canada, but that cannot be done here.
Asmak’s scheme involves the creation of onshore ponds, in a closed environment, where they plan to circulate and cool seawater to 13°C That’s not going to be cheap, particularly during the summer, when sea temperature can rise as high as 30°C. Off the coast of Ireland, by comparison, summer sea temperatures rarely exceed 15°C. Sea temperatures are lower still off northern Scotland and Norway, prime locations for salmon farming.
If the cooling system breaks down, even for an hour or two, the salmon will die very quickly. There’s also been little mention, so far, of the need to reduce the salinity of the Gulf’s seawater. Over the last 30 years, thanks in part to the impact of desalination plants, the Gulf’s salinity, on average, has risen to 47,000 ppm, compared to normal salinity in open oceans of 36,000 ppm.
Substantial supplies of fresh water – or, rather, desalinated water – are going to be required to dilute the cooled seawater. What is going to be the source for that? The country’s capacity for desalination and the associated power generation is already under great strain. Can we cope?
And then, of course, while it may be possible to grow salmon locally, the feed, thousands of tonnes of it, will presumably have to be imported from major producers overseas, at great expense.
A friend of mine with 40 years experience in salmon farming in Ireland, in offshore cages, tells me that he still faces problems with disease and nutrition, in much more suitable climatic and water conditions. He describes the idea of salmon-farming here as “just a dream”.
It makes good sense to farm hammour and similar warm water species. But I can’t help wondering whether the idea of producing salmon is a step too far, not just in terms of cost but also in terms of the challenge of overcoming local conditions. The trend in salmon farming worldwide is towards energy-efficient organic farming. That certainly won’t be the case here.
I note, while writing this column, that it’s being published on April 1. No, it’s not an April Fool’s Day joke. As we’re all well aware, though, the announcing of impractical ideas, like skiing in the Hajar Mountains, aren’t confined to a single day: they happen all year round. I look forward to hearing how successfully Asmak have dealt with the remarkable challenge they have set themselves.
Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
'Midnights'
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Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets