Ministry signs deal to boost fingerling production in Oman

Business Wednesday 15/May/2019 20:52 PM
By: Times News Service
Ministry signs deal to boost fingerling production in Oman

Muscat: The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries yesterday signed an agreement with the Blue Water Company to allow the company to benefit from the techniques and facilities available at the Aquaculture Centre in Al Bustan to be a temporary fingerlings hatchery for the company.
The agreement stems from the ministry’s belief in the importance of providing fingerlings from within the Sultanate and near aquaculture projects as hatcheries are the basic components of developing the aquaculture sector in a sustainable manner. The agreement will also provide the company with the opportunity to benefit from the laboratories and equipment of the centre to monitor the growth of the fingerlings perfectly and properly.
This agreement will contribute to the development of the staff capacity of the centre to deal with commercial hatchery and production.
At the first stage, the company imported 300,000 seabream fish (0.2 grammes), which will be reared up to a weight of 2 grammes and then transferred to the floating cages belonging to the company in the Wilayat of Quriyat in the Governorate of Muscat.
The shipment will be followed by other shipments during the upcoming period. In the second stage, the company will be carrying out the hatching of the seabream fish inside the centre and thus completely stop to import.
The company has previously installed a system to bring seawater to the centre by high standards to ensure that sea water reaches the quantities required to meet the needs of the hatchery and the appropriate quality for hatchery and breeding of seabream fish or any other fish that can be cultivated in the future.
The Blue Water Company is a subsidiary of the Oman Aquaculture Development Company, which is affiliated to Oman Investment Fund.