Muscat: The total quantity of fish landed in the Sultanate reached 202,099 tonnes by the end of March 2020 compared to 169,196 tons during the same period of 2019, which is a rise of 19.4 per cent, according to statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Traditional fishing practices in the Sultanate contributed to 192,913 tons of fish till the end of March 2020, constituting a rise of 16.2 per cent over 166,078 tonnes in 2019.
The total value of the fish stock was RO90.261 million in 2020, representing a growth of 13.1 per cent over RO79.77 million in 2019.
The Governorate of Al Wusta had the highest fish landing at 81,810 tonnes, followed by the Governorate of South Al Sharqiyah at 60,411 tonnes, and Dhofar at 18,464 tonnes. The quantity of fish landed in the governorates of North and South Al Batinah was 17,304 tonnes, and the quantity in Musandam was 9,651 tonnes. The landed quantity in Governorate of Muscat stood at 5,272 tonnes.
According to fish landing by species, the largest quantity of fish landed by the end of March 2020 comprised small pelagic fishes at 118,804 tonnes, compared to 118,526 tonnes at the end of March 2019, a rise of 0.2 per cent. The quantity of large pelagic fish rose by 101.1 per cent to reach 41,512 tonnes by the end of March 2020 compared to 20,640 tonnes by the end of March 2019. The quantity of demersal fish landed reached 27,516 tonnes, an increase of 19 per cent compared to March 2019 when it was 23,128 tonnes.
The quantity of sharks and rays was up by 66.8 per cent and crustaceans and molluscs by 14.1 per cent.
Coastal fishing and commercial fishing contributed to about 1,602 tonnes and 7,585 tonnes of total fish landings, respectively, by the end of March 2020. --ONA
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
