A meeting involving all the stakeholders of fisheries sector called upon the trading community as well as policy making bodies to adopt best practices while dealing with the issue of fish wealth in Oman. Held under the auspices of Sheikh Salem bin Aufait al Shanfari, Chairman of Dhofar Municipality, the meeting discussed the issue ranging from fish farming to funding, health safety measures in their preservation and transport, and ways to improve the population of abalone fish in Salalah waters. The meeting later turned into a symposium in which 11 presentations on topics related to the sector were made and valuable suggestions given to improve fish farming behaviour in the Sultanate.
Ahmed al Siyabi of Agriculture and Fisheries Development Fund (AFDF) explained about various projects being supported by the fund in agriculture, livestock and fishing sectors. He called upon the entrepreneurs and fishermen to avail of the opportunities being offered by the Ministry of Fisheries and stick to the suggested norms to save the fishery wealth which is part and parcel of the people of the Sultanate. Dr Hussain bin Harb al Masruri, Faculty member of Sultan Qaboos University gave an insightful presentation on a research project titled Fisheries science and sea’ and laid stress on sharing critical scientific information, objectives and technical advice with all the stakeholders in the sector.
Other speakers spoke generally about ways of distribution, quantity and quality control; fish statistics system; improving awareness about various fish species, fishing laws and ways of preservation and transportation. An interesting presentation on traditional fishing equipment was made by Mohammed bin Nasser al Mashrafi, while Wafa bint Subait al Oraimi deliberated upon safe and healthy way of preserving dry fish products. A presentation on abalone fish by Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Salaem Balkhair drew everyone’s attention as Dhofar is the only place in the Gulf region where abalone is available on a commercial scale. Mirbat, Sadah, Hadbin and Sharbatat are home to abalone, the large marine snails.
The Fisheries Research Centre in Salalah is working on a long-term goal to let the fishermen of the area use this resource for their sustainable growth and a pilot project aimed at restocking natural abalone and providing them proper habitat for their natural growth has given positive results.
Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising (OEPPA)