The total quantity of fish landed in the Sultanate reached 267,420 tons by the end of April 2020 compared to 215,243 tons during the same period of 2019, which is a rise of 24.2%, according to statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Traditional fishing practices in the Sultanate contributed to 256,230 tons of fish until the end of April 2020, constituting a rise of 21.9% over 210,139 tons in 2019. The total value of the fish stock was OMR121.12 million in 2020, representing a growth of 19.3% over OMR101.54 million in 2019.
The Governorate of Al-Wusta had the highest fish landing at 100,181 tons, followed by the Governorate of Ash-Sharqiah South at 75,396 tons, and North and South Batinah at 30,898 tons. The quantity of fish landed in the governorate of Dhofar was 25,936 tons, and the quantity in Musandam was 12,579 tons. The landed quantity in Governorate of Muscat stood at 11,240 tons.
According to fish landing by species, the largest quantity of fish landed by the end of April 2020 comprised small pelagic fishes at 154,340 tons, compared to 146,545 tons at the end of April 2019, a rise of 5.3%. The quantity of large pelagic fish rose by 115% to reach 61,385 tons by the end of April 2020 compared to 28,554 tons by the end of 2019. The quantity of demersal fish landed reached 34,495 tons, an increase of 15.5% compared to April 2019 when it was 29,863 tons. Meanwhile, there was a decline in the quantity of crustaceans and molluscs by 0.1%.
Coastal fishing and commercial fishing contributed to about 9,193 tons and 11,190 tons of total fish landings, respectively, by the end of April 2020.