Major aquaculture hubs planned along Oman’s coast

Muscat, Feb 3 - Oman Aquaculture Development Company (OADC), a subsidiary of Oman Investment Fund (OIF) — a sovereign wealth fund of the Sultanate of Oman — envisions the potential for as many as six major aquaculture hubs to be developed at key locations along the Sultanate’s lengthy coast in the future.
OADC, which already has a string of marine finfish and shrimp farming projects in various stages of implementation along Oman’s coast, has identified the potential for onshore and offshore aquaculture schemes to be established all the way from Musandam in the north to Dhofar in the south.
Its parent organisation, the Oman Investment Fund (OIF), is making a significant investment in initiatives that advance the Sultanate’s food security goals. OADC was established as a vehicle to jumpstart the growth of a robust aquaculture-based industry in the Sultanate to support not only food security, but job creation and economic growth in general.
Among the locations listed as promising for the establishment of aquaculture hubs in the future is Musandam, where cage and long-line sites for a number of marine species have been identified.
Further down along the coast, OADC sees the potential for offshore aquaculture of marine finfish and seaweed/shellfish, as well as onshore Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) based hatchery projects. Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) reuse the water many times, passing the water through treatment rocesses to remove waste and to restore water quality.
At Al Sharqiyah, prospects for small onshore marine finfish projects, also based on Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS), have been identified. Barr Al Hikman is seen as particularly promising for large scale aquaculture projects. Aquaculture hubs are also envisioned off Masirah (cages and long lines), Al Wusta (shrimp farming), and Dhofar (abalone and marine finfish farming).
As many as five marine finfish farming and hatchery projects, promoted by OADC, are in various stages of development and operation off the capital region. They include a cage finfish farming scheme at Qurayat with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes per year, and a similar facility currently under initial development at Dhabab.

At Bimmah, the company plans to set up a 3,000 tonnes per annum tuna ranching farm, while at Ras Abu Dawood, a cage finfish facility with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes per annum, is envisioned. At Al Bustan, in Muscat, a major finfish hatchery with a capacity to produce 35 million juveniles, is under planning as well.