Fishing

Start with who needs fresh and chilled fish and why. Around fish markets, hotels, restaurants and households drive demand in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates.

• List 10 offers or suppliers in the UAE with price per kg in AED and who buys.
• Interview 5 people from fish markets, hotels, restaurants and households: what do they buy now, how often, what do they pay, what annoys them?
• Learn three terms: Cold chain (keeping fish cold from sea to plate); Grading (sorting fish by size and freshness); Quota and season (limits on what and when you may catch).
• Write a one-page brief: user, need, hoped-for price, and the rule that matters most.

Activity. Complete the market table, five interview notes and the brief.

Standard to meet. Price ten offers, interview five users, and state one need in one sentence.

Know the rule before the work. Main hazards here: spoilage from heat and poor handling. Hazard thinking means list each step, ask what could go wrong, and decide the control.

• Ask your local authority or free zone which licence, permit or inspection applies. Write the answer and the date you asked.
• For each step (catch or buy; chill at once; grade and pack; deliver cold) write the hazard and the control.
• Use a hierarchy: remove the hazard, replace it, separate people from it, change the way of work, then protective equipment last.
• Keep a one-page incident rule: who you call, what you stop, what you record.

Activity. Draw the flow and mark hazard and control at each step.

Standard to meet. Name a hazard and a control for every step, and answer the licence question in writing.

The work is a short chain: catch or buy, chill at once, grade and pack, deliver cold. Learn each link, then link them with records.

• Write a checklist for each of the 4 steps: input, action, check, output.
• Time each step three times and note the slowest.
• Record a defect or delay each time it happens: what, where, cause, fix.
• Measure kilograms sold per kilogram landed; this is your main number.

Activity. Run the chain three times (simulated or real) and fill the log.

Standard to meet. Complete three logs, and give the slowest step a cause and a fix.

What you do not measure you cannot improve. Your main measure is kilograms sold per kilogram landed.

• Define kilograms sold per kilogram landed: what counts, what does not, and over what period.
• Draw a simple chart of the last 10 results and mark the average.
• Find the top two causes of loss with a tally sheet, then fix the biggest one first.
• Check measuring tools: are they accurate, clean and in date?

Activity. Collect a tally for one week and make a Pareto chart.

Standard to meet. Complete the tally, name the biggest cause, and plan one fix with a date.

Know the cost of one kg before you set the price. Include materials, labour, energy, transport, licence share, waste and a safety margin.

• Cost per kg = total cost divided by kg sold (not made).
• Margin = (price minus cost) divided by price.
• Break-even units = fixed costs divided by gain per unit.
• Test the price with two users and write down the answer.

Activity. Build the cost sheet with AED on every line and have your mentor check it.

Standard to meet. Check that no cost is missing, and calculate the margin twice by different routes.

Customers return when you keep promises. Promise only what your workflow can deliver.

• Write a one-page offer: what is included, what is not, price, time, how you fix mistakes.
• Write a short script for the first call or visit.
• Agree dates in writing; confirm each change.
• Handle a complaint in four steps: listen, apologise for the impact, fix, record what changed.

Activity. Present the offer to two users and note changes.

Standard to meet. Write an offer with scope, price, time and a fix rule, and collect comments from two users.

Small, real and recorded. Change one thing at a time and learn quickly.

• Keep a daily log: date, units, cost, delays, defects, safety notes.
• Hold a 15-minute review each week with your mentor.
• Write down every complaint and what you changed.
• Take photos only where allowed and never of people without consent.

Activity. Complete 30 days of the log and four weekly reviews.

Standard to meet. Log 30 days, give each defect a cause, and keep weekly notes.

A decision beats a feeling. Compare plan with result and choose to scale, change or stop.

• Make a before and after table: cost per unit, defects, delays, repeat users.
• Write three lessons.
• Decide scale, change or stop, with the numbers behind it.
• Give two peers one strength and one fix each.

Activity. Present to a review room and collect one written comment from a user.

Standard to meet. Justify the decision with numbers, and give two peer reviews.

Fish spoil quickly in heat. Ice, shade and speed protect quality and price.

• Bleed and gut promptly where practice requires.
• Layer fish and ice at about equal weight; drain meltwater.
• Keep the catch out of direct sun.
• Record landing time and ice used.

Activity. Write an ice plan for a 12-hour trip.

Standard to meet. State the ice ratio and cover shade and drainage.

Authorities set seasons, sizes and areas to protect stocks. Breaking them risks fines and loss of licence.

• Check the season calendar and minimum sizes.
• Use permitted gear only; release undersized fish carefully.
• Keep a catch log.
• Safety at sea: life jackets, radio, weather check.

Activity. List the rules that apply to your catch and how you will check them.

Standard to meet. Source the rules from the authority.

Different buyers pay different prices and want different sizes and deliveries.

• Compare prices per kilogram across three channels.
• Offer hotels a regular delivery with a fixed size.
• Grade by size and freshness before selling.
• Keep payment and delivery records.

Activity. Compare three channels for one week of sample catch.

Standard to meet. Show prices and net margin.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Fresh fish and the cold chain

Notes: Name the cold chain, grading and quota and season, and say why fish spoil in heat. Notes: use one local fish and a picture; ask who keeps fish cold from sea to plate.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Seasons, sizes and sea safety

Notes: Know that seasons, minimum sizes and permitted gear are set by the authority, and list life jackets, radio and weather check as sea safety. Notes: show a catch with six undersized fish and say they are released alive and logged; go to sea only with a competent skipper.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Make an ice plan

Notes: Write an ice plan for a 12-hour trip with ice at about equal weight to fish, shade and drainage. Notes: 100 kg of fish with 100 kg of ice stays chilled while half the ice gives soft fish; check the landing time and ice used are recorded.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Run the chain and measure the yield

Notes: Run catch or buy, chill at once, grade and pack and deliver cold three times and report kilograms sold per kilogram landed. Notes: time each step three times and fix the slowest; a pilot that rises from 71 per cent to 84 per cent shows a fix that works.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Compare channels and decide

Notes: Compare the price per kilogram across three channels for one week and decide which to scale, change or stop. Notes: grade A at AED 32 a kilogram to a hotel against AED 24 at auction is AED 1,600 more on 200 kg; at AED 28 price and AED 19 cost the margin is 32.1 per cent.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Coach a crew on handling and logs

Notes: Lead a crew to follow the handling and catch-log rules with a weekly check. Notes: sample five trip logs for landing time, ice used and undersized fish released; target every log complete.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design a fishing business system

Notes: Design a catch, cold chain, licence and sales system for several boats with an audit and a 12-month plan. Notes: with fixed costs of AED 3,420 and a gain of AED 9 a kilogram break-even is 380 kg; present one risk, one saving and the season calendar.