Muscat: The total quantity of fish landed in the Sultanate reached 371,799 tonnes at the end of June 2020 compared to 278,013 tonnes during the same period of 2019, which is a rise of 33.7 per cent, according to statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Traditional fishing practices in the Sultanate contributed to 358,342 tonnes of fish at the end of June 2020, constituting a rise of 34.3 per cent over 266,780 tonnes in 2019.
The total value of the fish stock was RO160.85 million in 2020, representing a growth of 17.4 per cent over RO137.04 million in 2019.
Coastal fishing and commercial fishing contributed to about 2,274 tonnes and 11,183 tonnes of total fish landings, respectively, at the end of June 2020.
The Governorate of Al Wusta had the highest fish landing at 133,284 tonnes, followed by the Governorate of South Al Sharqiyah at 100,941 tonnes, and North and South Al Batinah at 46,355 tonnes.
The quantity of fish landed in the Governorate of Dhofar was 42,184 tonnes, and the quantity in Musandam was 18,445 tonnes. The landed quantity in Governorate of Muscat stood at 17,133 tonnes.
According to fish landing by species, the largest quantity of fish landed at the end of June 2020 comprised small pelagic fishes at 214,794 tons, compared to 175,872 tonnes at the end of June 2019, a rise of 22.1 per cent. The quantity of large pelagic fish rose by 87.7 per cent to reach 83,649 tonnes at the end of June 2020 compared to 44,573 tonnes at the end of June 2019.
The quantity of demersal fish landed reached 51,477 tonnes, an increase of 33.5 per cent compared at the end of June 2019 when it was 38,548 tonnes. Meanwhile, there was a decline in the quantity of crustaceans and molluscs by 3.2 per cent. --ONA
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