The lobster fishing season in Oman started on March 1 and continues for three months. The lobster fishing season has great economic and social importance for fishermen in the sultanate. An important resource, lobsters live among rocks and coral reefs, as well as in sandy and clay environments and in shallow depths close to the beaches. 

Speaking to Muscat Daily an official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF), said, “Fishermen use plastic traps which have the capacity to catch between 20 and 40 lobsters. Lobsters in Oman are caught along the wilayats of the governorates of Dhofar, Al Wusta and South Sharqiyah, overlooking the coastal strip of the Arabian Sea because these governorates have fishing sites that are rich in fish due to the nature of the Arabian Sea and its marine biodiversity.” 

MoAF statistics show that the sultanate’s production of lobster during the 2019 season stood at 958 tonnes and the value of production reached RO4.8mn.  

Exports of production reached around 245 tonnes, and domestic consumption was 713 tonnes. A kilogram of lobster costs between RO4 and RO9. It is also exported to Gulf countries and Asian and European countries.