According to the public relations office of Shrimp Research Institute of the country, the ban on fishing for sardines was applied from 6 April 2021 in the waters of Bushehr province. Sardines are one of the economic and valuable fish of Persian Gulf and the region, which are a major part of the effort and economy of the fishing community. Monitoring of sardine fish stocks according to the goals of sustainable development and management of aquatic stocks, is done by experts of Shrimp Research Institute of the country in cooperation with Bushehr Fisheries. The main habitats of these pelagic and migratory aquatic species in Bushehr province are the waters of Kangan, Asaluyeh and Dayyer regions. As a result of a field study during September and October 2020, the beginning of sardine fishing in the waters of Bushehr province was announced on October 11, 2020. It should be noted that the last joint patrol of Bushehr Fisheries and Shrimp Research Institute was conducted on April 12, 2021, in order to continue fishing or to announce the ban on fishing efforts of the purse seiners. As a result of monitoring operations by the stocks assessment department of the Shrimp Research Institute's, population statistics, successful target species catch rates and its comparison with previous years, along with information from the fishing community, in the provincial fisheries committee, led to the announcement of a fishing ban date for this fish.
In the waters of Persian Gulf and the major fishing grounds of Bushehr province, sardines are caught by boat or by purse sein nets.
According to the deputy director of fisheries of Bushehr Fisheries, these boats catch up to 2,000 tons of sardines annually, but this year there was a significant decrease in the amount of fishing, which can be affected by various factors, especially unfavorable weather conditions and the impact of overfishing.