Fisheries Labs set for launch on September 17

The stock of small pelagic fish is more than 1.9 million tonnes, of which 970,000 tonnes are consumable and currently only about 119,000 tonnes are used. Finfish are estimated at more than 5 million tonnes in the Arabian Sea and the Sea of Oman. More than 1.2 million tonnes can be used in many industries related to food production for fish farming.
When it comes to production components and activities related to the fisheries sector, Omanis constitute 91 per cent of the workers in this sector 47,899 Omani and 4,699 expatriates. As of the end of the year 2016 and according to the ministry’s statistics, there are 22,720 small fishing boats, 688 artisanal fishing vessels, 134 coastal fishing vessels, 4,115 fish transport vehicles, 402 marketing outlets, 59 fish markets and 6,044 fish establishments.

Regarding unloaded fish species, the statistics indicate that the small pelagic fish accounted for 51 per cent of the total artisanal catch during the first quarter of 2017 with a quantity of 47,666 tonnes and a rise of 13 per cent compared to the quantities unloaded in the same period last year. This type of fish amounted to 43 per cent of the total unloaded fish in 2016. In January 2017, the largest quantity of fish catch through artisanal fishing was recorded reaching 33,708 tonnes with value of RO 22.842 million, of which 35 per cent were from the Governorate of Al Wusta and 24 per cent from the Governorate of South Al Sharqiyah. The total value of fish unloaded from the artisanal fishing sector during last year 2016 amounted to RO 200.358 million compared to RO 169.422 million during the year 2015 representing an increase of about 18 per cent.

The ministry also works on promoting the establishment of small self-projects of youth, creating employment opportunities for citizens and developing the capacities of the manpower, with an objective to focus on the development of local communities close to the projects and ensure their participation in the ministry’s efforts. The ministry is also working diligently through its plans and studies in the area of aquaculture to achieve an increase in production from fish farming to 100,000 tonnes by 2023.

In addition, the ministry aims at maximising the sector’s contribution to GDP, diversifying sources of income, increasing the competitiveness of the Sultanate, enhancing sectors related to fish farming and providing additional job opportunities for citizens by about 11,000 jobs.

As part of the Sultanate’s efforts to develop this vital activity, the Ministry has carried out scientific research that provided the basis for the commercial growth in the field, helped identify and allocate fish farming sites, in coordination with the competent authorities and facilitated the publication of an atlas for suitable aqua cultural sites and issuance of the aquaculture regulations.
The ministry has also formed a committee for aquaculture that consists of a number of relevant government entities.

Furthermore, many strategic studies have been conducted, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), one of which is the Strategic Plan for a Sustainable Aquaculture Development. In order to develop the infrastructure of the sector, the Ministry has established the Aquaculture Development Department to deal with investment applications and develop the sector in a sustainable manner. The Fish Farming Centre was also established to carry out scientific research, as well as the Omani Company for Aquaculture Development.

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