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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

SQU hosts GCC marine biotechnology conference

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MUSCAT: “The Second GCC Marine Biotechnology Conference: Emerging Opportunities and Future Perspectives” organised by the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biotechnology (CEMB), SQU, in association with the European Society of Marine Biotechnology (ESMB) was commenced yesterday at SQU under the patronage of Dr Hamed bin Said al Aufi, Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.


Around 160 participants representing researchers, industry and policy makers from 23 countries are attending this two-day conference. 39 talks and 30 high quality poster presentations covering different aspects of fisheries, aquaculture, biofouling, antifouling, marine natural products, genetics and biodiversity of marine organisms are presented during the event.


Dr Sergey Dobretsov said that the development of marine biotechnology in Oman is being pursued by Sultan Qaboos University through a dedicated research Centre of Excellence in Marine Biotechnology. There are also other initiatives in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and The Research Council. The plenary speaker Prof Grant Burgess, Newcastle University, UK, in his talk mentioned that marine biotechnology has grown into the growing multibillion-dollar industry since the 1980s. In his presentation, he reviewed marine biotechnology commercial successes from around the world and highlighted the successful examples.


Dr Roger Huerlimann from James Cook University, Australia, talked about environmental DNA that represents a forensic genetic signature of the organism having occupied a habitat. These molecules can be used to detect rare and invasive species in ecosystems.


On the second day of the conference, Prof Claire Hellio, Brest University, France, is going to talk about biofouling and its prevention using marine natural products. Dr Stephen Goddard will be presenting findings about development of aquaculture in the arid environment.


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