The total quantity of fish landed in the Sultanate reached 330,335 tons at the end of May 2020 compared to 251,372 tons during the same period of 2019, which is a rise of 31.4%, according to statistics released by the NCSI.
Traditional fishing practices in the Sultanate contributed to 317,802 tons of fish at the end of May 2020, constituting a rise of 31.5% over 241,620 tons in 2019. The total value of the fish stock was OMR143.54 million in 2020, representing a growth of 18.1% over OMR121.50 million in 2019.
Coastal fishing and commercial fishing contributed to about 2,179 tons and 10,354 tons of total fish landings, respectively, at the end of May 2020.
The Governorate of Al-Wusta had the highest fish landing at 123,248 tons, followed by the Governorate of Ash-Sharqiah South at 88,967 tons, and North and South Batinah at 40,932 tons. The quantity of fish landed in the governorate of Dhofar was 33,497 tons, and the quantity in Musandam was 16,245 tons. The landed quantity in Governorate of Muscat stood at 14,913 tons.
According to fish landing by species, the largest quantity of fish landed at the end of May 2020 comprised small pelagic fishes at 190,545 tons, compared to 162,454 tons at the end of May 2019, a rise of 17.3%. The quantity of large pelagic fish rose by 99.8% to reach 75,332 tons at the end of May 2020 compared to 37,697 tons at the end of May 2019.
The quantity of demersal fish landed reached 45,326 tons, an increase of 27.6% compared to May 2019 when it was 35,516 tons. Meanwhile, there was a decline in the quantity of crustaceans and molluscs by 5.2%.