Fish catch rises 44.8% in 2020
MUSCAT: The total quantity of fish landed in the Sultanate reached 840,378 tonnes in 2020, an increase of 44.8 per cent comparing to 2019, according to the statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
The aquaculture production grew by 24 per cent compared to 2019. The total aquaculture production amounted to 1,307 tonnes of bream.
Oman’s fish exports rose to more than 300,000 tonnes, a growth rate of 47.3 per cent, with a total value estimated at RO 114,275,600 in 2020.
Artisanal fishing in the Sultanate amounted to 793,419 tonnes of the total fish production in 2020 comprising a growth of 42.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2019. This is attributed to a rise in the production of pelagic fish such as tuna and trevally, as well as squid from mollusks category.
The sardines topped the list in artisanal fishing for 2020 with about 430,130 tonnes comprising 54.2 per cent followed by tuna with 68,578 tonnes (8.6 per cent).
The total commercial fishing catch reached about 41,363 tonnes, a surge of 106.2 per cent compared to 2019. Trevally topped the list by 93.6 per cent, with around 38,715 tonnes.
The coastal fishing production stood at around 4,289 tonnes, an increase of 9.4 per cent compared to 2019. In terms of fish species, tuna topped the list in terms of quantity to reach 651 tonnes, or 15.2 per cent of the total production of fishing vessels.
Then came emperor fish, which stood at 462 tonnes, or 10.8 per cent of the total coastal fishing.
As for marine and freshwater aquaculture, the amount of fish production reached 1,307 tonnes in 2020, including marine aquaculture for the bream fish production using floating cages. Aquaculture quantities grew by 24 per cent between 2019 and 2020.
GCC countries accounted 22.2 per cent of Oman’s fish exports in 2020 followed by 10.2 per cent to the US, 67.1 per cent to other countries and 0.5 per cent to European countries,
Among the GCC states, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came first with 37,952 tonnes, or 56.8 per cent, followed by Saudi Arabia with around 19,969 tonnes, or 29.9 per cent.
Bahrain came third, with exports amounting to 4,447 tonnes or 6.7 per cent followed by Qatar with around 3,783 tonnes or 5.7 per cent and Kuwait with 672 tonnes or 1 per cent.