Muscat, Jan 4 - The total quantity of fish landed in the Sultanate reached 607,978 tonnes at the end of October 2020 compared to 431,630 tonnes during the same period of 2019, which is a rise of 40.9 per cent, according to statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Traditional fishing practices in the Sultanate contributed to 579,817 tonnes of fish at the end of October 2020, constituting a rise of 40.3 per cent over 413,263 tonnes in 2019. The total value of the fish stock was RO275.72 million in 2020, representing a growth of 16.1 per cent over RO237.59 million in 2019.
Coastal fishing and commercial fishing contributed to about 3,183 tonnes and 24,978 tonnes of total fish landings, respectively, at the end of October 2020.
The Governorate of Al Wusta had the highest fish landing at 219,193 tonnes, followed by the Governorate of Al Sharqiah South at 175,182 tonnes, and North and South Batinah at 68,582 tonnes. The quantity of fish landed in the Governorate of Dhofar was 63,669 tonnes, and the quantity in Musandam was 27,400 tonnes.
The landed quantity in Governorate of Muscat stood at 25,790 tonnes.
According to fish landing by species, the largest quantity of fish landed at the end of October 2020 comprised small pelagic fishes at 336,033 tonnes, compared to 243,969 tonnes at the end of October 2019, a rise of 37.7 per cent. The quantity of large pelagic fish rose by 59.8 per cent to reach 134,571 tonnes at the end of October 2020 compared to 84,194 tonnes at the end of October 2019.
The quantity of demersal fish landed reached 85,237 tonnes, an increase of 31.2 per cent compared to October 2019 when it was 64,947 tonnes. Meanwhile, there was a rise in the quantity of crustaceans and molluscs by 16.5 per cent, and sharks and rays by 6.7 per cent.
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