Muscat: The total quantity of fish landed by artisanal fishing in the Sultanate of Oman till the end of November 2023 stood at 648,148 tonnes, reaching a value of OMR387,453,000, up by 9.6 per cent, compared to the same period in 2022, when its total quantity was 591,421 tonnes, according to the preliminary statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
The statistics also showed that the quantity of fish landed at the end of November 2023 through commercial fishing reached 46,287 tonnes, while the quantity of fish landed through coastal fishing reached 5,063 tonnes.
As for the same statistics, the highest quantity of fish landed through artisanal fishing was recorded in the Governorate of Al Wusta, which reached 249,666 tonnes, followed by the Governorate of South A’Sharqiyah, which recorded 197,926 tonnes.
The Governorate of Dhofar recorded a fish landing of 70,364 tonnes, while the Governorates of North Al Batinah North and South Al Batinah South recorded 67,110 tonnes. Fish landings in the Governorate of Musandam reached 35,214 tonnes and Muscat recorded 27,869 tonnes of landed fish.
The NCSI statistics also showed that the largest quantity of fish landed by artisanal fishing was the small pelagic fish, reaching 368,613 tonnes at the end of November 2023, compared to 299,781 tonnes at the end of November 2022, recording an increase of 23 per cent.
Meanwhile, the quantity of large pelagic fish landed by artisanal fishing, at the end of November 2023 decreased by 1 per cent, reaching 151,042 tonnes, compared to 152,601 tonnes at the end of November 2022.
The quantity of demersal fish landed by artisanal fishing fell by 7.9 per cent at the end of November 2023, reaching 103,000 tonnes, compared to the end of November 2022, when the quantity reached 111,816 thousand tonnes.
The number of sharks and rays landed by artisanal fishing recorded an increase of 2.9 per cent, reaching 5,786 tonnes at the end of November 2023, compared to 5,625 tonnes at the end of November 2022.
The crustaceans and molluscs landed by artisanal fishing till the end of November 2023 fell by 1.9 per cent, reaching 15,607 tonnes, compared to 15,911 tonnes at the end of November 2022, while the quantity of other fish landed by artisanal fishing reached 4,099 tonnes.