Muscat: The steering committee for the strategic research programme on harmful marine algae blooms on Tuesday held its second meeting. The virtual meeting was chaired by Eng Yaqoub bin Khalfan al Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources for Fisheries, in the presence of the committee's members from various relevant institutions, namely the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, the Ministry of Health, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Environment Authority, the Public Authority for Water and the Civil Aviation Authority.
The meeting reviewed the items executed from the decisions of the previous meeting. The committee approved recommendations of the technical committee related to the directly guided proposals, and approved the evaluation results that meet the funding requirements and evaluation criteria approved by the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation,
The steering committee also reviewed the developments of the call for proposals and the detailed plan for the program, which aim to develop the program’s action plan, its implementation mechanism, the timeframe, and define the responsibilities and tasks of the members.
The steering committee also reviewed the final vision of the programme’s introductory workshop and the media plan that aims to familiarize the community about the phenomenon of harmful marine algae blooms.
It is worth noting that the strategic research program on harmful marine algal blooms is one of the strategic research programs previously presented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources to the Research Council (TRC). The programme aims to create an integrated system for the effective management of monitoring and controlling the phenomenon of red tides and prediction systems in the Omani waters at the national level, in addition to reducing economic losses, preserving fisheries and the marine environment, and protecting human health. --ONA
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