The total quantity of fish landed in the Sultanate reached 371,799 tons at the end of June 2020 compared to 278,013 tons during the same period of 2019, which is a rise of 33.7%, according to statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Traditional fishing practices in the Sultanate contributed to 358,342 tons of fish at the end of June 2020, constituting a rise of 34.3% over 266,780 tons in 2019. The total value of the fish stock was OMR160.85 million in 2020, representing a growth of 17.4% over OMR137.04 million in 2019.
Coastal fishing and commercial fishing contributed to about 2,274 tons and 11,183 tons of total fish landings, respectively, at the end of June 2020.
The Governorate of Al-Wusta had the highest fish landing at 133,284 tons, followed by the Governorate of Ash-Sharqiah South at 100,941 tons, and North and South Batinah at 46,355 tons. The quantity of fish landed in the governorate of Dhofar was 42,184 tons, and the quantity in Musandam was 18,445 tons. The landed quantity in Governorate of Muscat stood at 17,133 tons.
According to fish landing by species, the largest quantity of fish landed at the end of June 2020 comprised small pelagic fishes at 214,794 tons, compared to 175,872 tons at the end of June 2019, a rise of 22.1%. The quantity of large pelagic fish rose by 87.7% to reach 83,649 tons at the end of June 2020 compared to 44,573 tons at the end of June 2019.
The quantity of demersal fish landed reached 51,477 tons, an increase of 33.5% compared at the end of June 2019 when it was 38,548 tons. Meanwhile, there was a decline in the quantity of crustaceans and molluscs by 3.2%.