Exploring the influence of gas extraction on fisheries’ footprint in the Middle East: applying spatial econometrics

The different stages of oil and gas extraction in the seabed are linked to water pollution and threaten fish reserves. This issue becomes more critical in the Middle East countries which are rich in natural resources and at the same time are facing water tensions. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the harmful impact of gas extraction on fisheries’ footprint in the Middle East based on data from 1990 to 2021. In addition, as the destructive effects of gas extraction are not only limited to the extraction area but also affect the region widespread, then to examine the spreading characteristic of fishing ground footprint in the entire region of the Middle East, this study applies spatial econometrics. According to the results, local gas extraction has a considerable positive and significant effect on the home fishery’s footprint. Each percent growth in local gas extraction leads to a significant increase of approximately 0.21 in the home fishing footprint index. In addition, spatial coefficients analysis reveals that a 1% growth in gas extraction in neighboring countries leads to a 4% increase in fisheries footprint inside a country. In addition, the driving force of fisheries footprint in the Middle East mainly came from gas extraction, accelerated economic development (GDP^2), and agricultural production of the country itself, as well as the urbanization, industrialization, and gas extraction of neighboring countries, respectively. Then, the catastrophe of fishing areas’ demolition caused by gas extraction activities in the Middle East area is remarkable and fish conservation needs more intra- and cross-country prevention policies in the Middle East area.