Muscat: The amount of fish landed in the Sultanate of Oman at the end of 2022 dropped by 21.9 percent to reach 718,726 tonnes compared to the same period in 2021, when it stood at 920,241 tonnes. The total value of the fish catch was worth OMR423,568,000 in 2022 and OMR420,927,000 in 2021.
Initial statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed that the highest amount of fish landed by artisanal fishing at the end of December 2022 was in the Governorate of Al Wusta with 245,895 tonnes, followed by the Governorate of South Al Sharqiyah with 206,558 tonnes, then the governorates of North and South Al Batinah with 71,639 tonnes, the Governorate of Dhofar with 68,968 tonnes, the Governorate of Musandam with 36,862 tonnes and the Governorate of Muscat with 34,967 tonnes.
The total amount of fish landed by artisanal fishing by species fell by 23.6 percent to 664,890 tonnes by the end of December 2022, compared to 869,968 tonnes for the same period in 2021.
The total quantities landed by coastal fishing stood at about 5,062 tonnes, an increase of 8.5 percent at the end of December 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, when it reached to 4,665 tonnes.
The quantities of fish landed by commercial fishing also rose to 48,774 tonnes, or by 6.9 percent, compared to the same period in 2021, when stood at 45,608 tonnes.