As part of its efforts to support the fisheries sector and increase national income, Fisheries Development Oman has started expansion work of the floating cages project in Quriyat.

Supervised by Blue Waters Company, the project will increase the production capacity of koffer fish from 2,000 tonnes to 3,000 tonnes annually. The project is expected to be completed in July. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources said that the sultanate’s aquaculture production in 2019amounted to 1,054 tonnes, an increase of 133 per cent compared to 2018. It yielded RO2mn. 

The production was limited to two types of fish – seabream and tilapia. Seabream production went up to 862 tonnes in 2019, and constituted 82 per cent of the total aquaculture production at a value of RO1.7mn. Tilapia production constituted 18 per cent, with 192 tonnes. 

According to statistics of the Aquaculture Development Department in the ministry, there are currently 23 integrated projects, in addition to 16 applications for commercial aquaculture projects, to produce tilapia, shrimp and seabream. 

Aquaculture projects in the sultanate are categorised into integrated aquaculture and commercial aquaculture projects. The integrated aquaculture projects are based on the integration between agricultural activity and aquaculture. It aims to optimise the use of land and water resources in food production activity that contributes to food security. As for commercial aquaculture projects, most of them take place at sea or on a land beside the sea. The production of tilapia in integrated aquaculture increased from 20 tonnes in 2015 to 192 tonnes in 2019.