FDO announces harvest at aquaculture farm in Khuweimah, Jalaan Bani Bu Ali

MUSCAT: Fisheries Development Oman (FDO) has announced the first harvest of oriental shrimp aquaculture, a subsidiary of the FDO group, from the 200-hectare Shrimp Aquaculture Project at Khuweimah, Jalaan Bani Bu Ali, in the Sultanate of Oman’s Al Sharqiyah South Governorate.

With an investment value of around OMR16 million (over $41 million), the project represents the FDO Group’s ongoing promotion of aquaculture as a key pillar to diversifying the national economy beyond the hydrocarbon sector.

It also reflects the Fisheries Development Oman Group’s progress in terms of leveraging Oman’s favourable economic, geographical, and logistical conditions to become a regional leader in the aquaculture and fisheries sector. Furthermore, the farm is growing Pacific White Shrimp, (Litopenaeus vannamei), using specific pathogen-free brood stocks imported from the United States.

The entire production operation is carried out in a highly bio-secure and hygienic environment without the use of drugs, antibiotics, or any chemicals of public health concern.

Key components of the project include 126 grow-out ponds for Pacific White Shrimp, a nursery unit with 48 ponds, a post-larval unit, pre-processing unit, and support infrastructure.

With an operation capacity of 4000 tonnes annually, the Khuweimah farm supports the Fisheries Development Oman group’s mission to lead the development of a sustainable and competitive aquaculture sector in Oman that promotes a meaningful contribution to wealth creation, food security needs, and employment generation in Oman, through the diversification of production systems that produce safe, nutritious and affordable aquaculture produce, while ensuring the environmental continuity required for securing its future growth.