Finfish farming set to take-off in Oman

@conradprabhu

An Omani government-backed fisheries development company has outlined plans for investment in an array of finfish farming projects along the Sultanate’s coast, aimed at supplementing fisheries production by conventional methods.

Blue Waters, a subsidiary of Fisheries Development Oman (FDO) — the government’s fisheries development and investment flagship wholly owned by Oman Investment Authority (OIA), the integrated sovereign wealth fund of the Sultanate, has also invited international partners and technology providers to partner with it in the implementation of these ventures.

A recent article published by the Omani-British Business Council (OBBC), part of The Anglo-Omani Society (AOS), underscores the pivotal role of Blue Waters to the Sultanate’s aquaculture development strategy.

Already billed as a biggest producer of seabream in the Gulf region, the company — established in 2016 — plans to invest in a wider ecosystem around finfish farming aimed at, among other things, enhancing the contribution of fisheries to the GDP, driving job growth, and stimulating entrepreneurial opportunities in rural, coastal areas around its operations.

“Since its inception, it has invested in marine finfish cage farms, but also helped in developing modern processing, packaging and logistics for fresh seabream products in GCC. The company aims to create an integrated value chain; hatcheries, feed factories, fish production and processing that maximise the value-add to the aquaculture economy in Oman and the region,” the company said.

Its first venture, centring on floating cage farms installed offshore at Qurayyat in Muscat Governorate, has a capacity to produce 3,000 tonnes per annum of Gilthead European Seabream. The company now plans to launch its own hatchery in the Sultanate to end its dependence on live fingerlings flown in from Europe.

“Blue Waters is in the process of establishing a finfish hatchery in collaboration with international partners as part of its commitment to innovation and to embrace the latest technology, research and development.

Such development is crucial in order to undertake local species development in the future and to further increase efficiencies in marine finfish production in Oman, in line with the country’s vision and strategic objectives,” the company stated.

Going forward, Blue Waters has plans to ramp up its portfolio of investments in the finfish farming segment of the fisheries industry. Fish farming capacity at Qurayat is proposed to be boosted to 10,000 tonnes annually in the long term.

This includes a plan for augmenting seabream farming to 5,000 tonnes. Also envisaged is a proposal for a tuna fattening farm by the end of 2021 and initiatives to farm some local finfish species, notably cobia.

To ensure the sustainable operation of these projects, Blue Waters also plans to develop robust support infrastructure at Qurayat Fish Harbour. This will necessitate investments in storage facilities, packaging plant and maintenance workshops estimated at over $50 million over the next five years.

The company has noted in this regard that it is open to investment and partnership opportunities to help achieve its long-term objectives. “We welcome any investor interested in our projects that can transfer know-how, introduce new technology and/or develop local capabilities. We are currently exploring a number of projects with technical partners and hoping to conclude some of them by next year,” it added.

While Blue Waters is focused on finfish farm projects, sister firm Al Wusta Fisheries has its sights on pelagic fisheries based investments. Oceanic Shrimp Aquaculture, also a subsidiary of Fisheries Development Oman, has plans for sizable investments in shrimp farming initiatives.

All three companies are key to achieving the government’s target of securing 200,000 tonnes per annum of fisheries production from aquaculture alone by the year 2040.