SWOT Analysis for Published Marine Scientific Research in the Kingdom of Bahrain from 1960s through to 2011

Abstract

The study provides an analysis of the strengths; weaknesses; opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the scientific researches carried out in the field of marine environment and fisheries in the Kingdom of Bahrain from 1960s until 2011. Internationally recognized databases such as SCOPUS, E-village, Science Direct, Google were used and 82 articles were collected. A recent bibliography of fisheries issued by the Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research included 328 research titles but only 40 were published in refereed scientific journals and therefore were added. Overall, a total of 122 articles which were published in peer reviewed journals covered a diverse topics and included Fisheries and Fisheries’ Management (18 articles, 14.8%); Ecology of selected habitats (29 articles or 23.8%); Biology of fishes, oysters, crabs, sea urchins, mollusk and shrimps (20 articles or 16.4%); Mari-culture technology, management and fish feed (9 articles or 7.4%); Pollution monitoring in biota, sediment and water including bacteriological studies (45 articles, 36.9%) and Recreation as a management resource (1 article or 0.8%). Pollution received the highest proportion of research interests followed by Ecology and Fisheries. Despite the amount of efforts that were made, gaps in our knowledge of the marine environment and marine organisms of Bahrain remain wide. There is a need for more research in this field of studies. If more data gathered in a collaborated manner on a regular basis, it would be an invaluable management resource for both fisheries and the wellbeing of the marine environment in Bahrain.