An already disenfranchised group within the Bahraini social stratosphere, fishermen - who rely on access to open waters for employment and income purposes - are experiencing great direct and indirect economic and social impacts as a result of reclamation.

Bahrain’s massive land reclamation projects have placed huge pressure on the country’s fishing industry as well as on its relationship with its GCC neighbor, Qatar. In fact, in May 2010, Adel Ali Mohammed, 37, a Bahraini fisherman, was shot and seriously injured by the Qatari Coast and Borders Security forces after he was caught fishing in Qatari waters. The shooting came less than a year after another Bahraini fisherman drowned when his boat was rammed by a Qatari coastguard vessel. It took three days for his body to be recovered. In both instances, the Qatari authorities said they used force because the fishermen failed to comply with their orders to stop. However, Bahraini opposition politicians blame government policies regarding sea reclamation for the troubles facing fishermen, and question their legality and necessity. Their claims are supported by environmentalists, who point to the detrimental effects of reclamation on the marine environment and livelihood of those who depend on the sea [2].

In a study published in 2014 about the land reclamation policy’s effects on Bahrain’s fishermen communities, an indigenous faction of Bahraini civil society, Fatema Alzeera claims that while reclamation plans have ensured both economic and industrial growth for the state, they inevitably caused detrimental economic and social losses to an already disadvantaged community within society. The failure in planning, however, portrays a bleaker image of the government's inability and unwillingness to respond to civic complaints regarding public planning projects, leading to consequences which completely transformed the fishing industry and, with that, its labor market. More importantly, the neglectful nature of state policies produced amplified mistrust within the fisherman communities, creating a vicious cycle of uncooperative behavior. [3]

In fact, early in 2009, 1700 fishermen held a week-long strike to show their discontent with the Bahraini government’s development policies. The Fishermen's Protection Society claim the huge amount of coastal development over the last five years has drastically depleted fish stocks and robbed them of 80% of their earnings. They are demanding financial compensation as well as the protection of ports and fisheries from future developments under Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030 masterplan. The strike reportedly brought the local seafood industry to a standstill and follows a string of smaller demonstrations organized by Bahrain Fishermen's Society over the past six months. [4][5]

In 2015, The Bahraini government proposed to expand the shrimping ban from 4 to 6 months amid fears that Bahrain’s fish stocks could be wiped out. Another proposal, to ban shrimping altogether was also proposed in November 2016 with government officials stating that the traditional method of shrimping is considered harmful to the environment as it affects the balance of the marine ecology. The adverse effects of the country’s land reclamation policies were not cited. [6][7] 

In July 2017, more than 70 Bahraini fishermen staged a sit-in yesterday to protest against ongoing issues with the country’s extended shrimping ban. They descended upon the Agriculture and Marine Resources Directorate in Budaiya yesterday, where they protested a lack of action to “protect their livelihoods” from the shrimping ban. [8]

Discontent with the limitations of academia and media in raising awareness of the grave consequences of land reclamation, groups of artists, researchers and journalists embarked on a new kind of project. The idea was to turn research into film and short animations, in a visual format accessible via the Internet to a wide range of audience, both within Bahrain and globally. [9]

The stories of land reclamation were told in many different ways as ARCHITECTEM (Architecture and Design website) contributor Ali Lari delves in narratives of ownership, inaccessible coastlines, and loss by telling the story of Damestan, a small fishermen village in the island Kingdom of Bahrain, with the help of artists and storytellers. They state that the legality of sea ownership and its reclamation is questionable at best. Article 11 of the constitution of Bahrain states,

"All natural wealth and resources are State property. The State shall safeguard them and exploit them properly, while observing the requirements of the security of the State and of the national economy."

In the eyes of the people and the coastal population of Damestan, the sea and the palm beaches are nothing short of a natural resource and an extension of their identity. [10]

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