Fish catch in Oman rises by 19.4%

Business Saturday 02/May/2020 16:33 PM
By: Times News Service
Fish catch in Oman rises by 19.4%

Muscat: The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries said that the amount of fish landing by the artisanal, coastal and commercial fishing sectors increased in the first quarter of 2020 by 19.4 per cent to reach 202,099 tonnes, compared to 169,196 tonnes in the first quarter of 2019.
Artisanal fishing accounted for 95.5 per cent of the total fish landing in that period of 2020. It accounted in 2019 for 95.9 per cent and amounted to 555,209 tonnes of the total amount of fish landing, which reached 579,184 tonnes.
The National Centre for Statistics and Information quoted, in its statistical bulletin of April, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries said that preliminary figures indicated that the amount of fish landing by the artisanal fishing sector increased in the first quarter of 2020 by 16.2 per cent and reached 192,913 tonnes, compared to 166,078 tonnes in the same period of 2019, with a total value of OMR90,261,000, compared to OMR79,776,000, an increase of 13.1 per cent in the total value.
The Governorate of Al Wusta topped the governorates in fish-landing in the artisanal fishing sector during the first quarter of 2020 with 42.4 per cent. The quantity of fish in the three coastal wilayats of the governorate (Al Jazir, Duqm, Mahout) reached 81,810 tonnes of fish, with a rise of 9.3 per cent for the first quarter of 2020.
The quantity of fish landing in the governorate in January reached 25,624 tonnes. It rose in February to 28,493 tonnes and slightly decreased in March to reach 27,693 tonnes.
The Governorate of South Al Sharqiyah came in second place with 60,411 tonnes of fish landing, representing 31.3 per cent of the total fish landed in the governorate. The amount of fish landing in the governorate during the first quarter of 2020 increased by 27.9 per cent compared to the same period of 2019.
The amount of fish landed in the governorate in January reached 17,828 tonnes. It rose in February to 23,154 tonnes and decreased in March to 19,429 tonnes.
The contribution of the artisanal fishing sector in the Governorate of South Al Sharqiyah in 2020 constituted 26 per cent of the total fish landing in the governorates of the Sultanate and amounted to 144,458 tonnes.
The artisanal fishing sector in the Governorate of Dhofar contributed 9.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, with 18,464 tonnes of fish landing, compared to 16,380 tonnes in the same period in 2019, an increase of 12.7 per cent. In 2019, it contributed 13.4 per cent, with 74,382 tonnes. The amount of fish landing in the governorate in January was 5914 tonnes, as it rose to 6,575 tonnes in February, and decreased in March to 5,975 tonnes.
In the Governorates of North and South Al Batinah, the fish landing during the first quarter of 2020 amounted to 17,304 tonnes, representing 9 per cent of the total amount of fish landing in the governorates, an increase of 30.4 per cent over the same period of last year, which reached 13,273 tonnes.
The amount of fish landing in both governorates in January reached 5,283 tonnes, increased in February to 4,645 tonnes, and hiked in March to 7,376 tonnes. The contribution of the artisanal fishing sector in both governorates in 2019 amounted to 12.2 per cent, reaching 67,808 tonnes.
The quantity of fish landing in the Governorate of Muscat increased in the first quarter of 2020 by 4.9 per cent, reached 5,272 tonnes, compared to 5,025 tonnes last year.
The month of March witnessed the largest amount of fish landing in the past three months, amounting to 2,055 tonnes, compared to 1,433 tonnes in February and 1784 tonnes in January. The quantity of fish landing in the governorate in 2019 amounted to 24,264 tonnes, representing 4.8 per cent of the total fish landing in the governorates.
To provide fish in the local market and achieve food security in the Sultanate, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is implementing multiple programmes and projects to develop the capabilities of artisanal fishermen to raise their performance efficiency in the fish sector, increase production in the fishing profession and encourage them to preserve their ancient profession.
These projects and programmes cover also sons of artisanal fishermen as they play an important role in passing on the fishing profession generation after generation. For this regard, the ministry organised a number of training seminars for the sons of fishermen and received a great reaction and response from them, which contribute to the succession of this profession.
On the other hand, NCSI indicated that the quantity of fish in the commercial fishing sector witnessed a significant increase in the first quarter of 2020 by 386.4 per cent, compared to the same period in 2019, amounted to 7,585 tonnes, compared to 1,559 tonnes in the first quarter of 2019, which represented 3.75 per cent of the total amount of fish landing in the first three months of 2020.
The commercial fishing sector contributed 3.5 per cent of the total amount of fish landing in the governorates of the Sultanate in 2019, with 20,054 tonnes of fish.
January witnessed the highest amount of fish landing in the first quarter of 2020 for this sector, amounting to 3,932 tonnes. The amount decreased in February to 2,128 tonnes, then to 1,525 tonnes in March.
Concerning coastal fishing, the amount of fish landing by this sector increased by 2.8 per cent and amounted to 1,602 tonnes, compared to 1,558 tonnes in the first quarter of 2019, including 626 tonnes in January, 507 tons in February, decreased to 469 tonnes in March.
The quantity of fish landing by this sector in 2019 reached 3,921 tonnes, representing 0.7 per cent of the total amount of fish landing in the governorates of the Sultanate.
The NCSI statistical bulletin indicated that the total value of the fish landing by the artisanal fishing sector amounted to OMR90,261,000 in the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 13.1 per cent over the value recorded during the same period in 2019, amounting to OMR79,776,000. The total value in 2019 reached OMR302,679,000.