The total quantity of fish landed in the Sultanate reached 513,000 tons at the end of September 2020 compared to 361,857 tons during the same period of 2019, which is a rise of 41.8%, according to statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Traditional fishing practices in the Sultanate contributed to 487,858 tons of fish at the end of September 2020, constituting a rise of 40.7% over 346,646 tons in 2019. The total value of the fish stock was OMR238.87 million in 2020, representing a growth of 19.8% over OMR199.37 million in 2019.
Coastal fishing and commercial fishing contributed to about 2,659 tons and 22,483 tons of total fish landings, respectively, at the end of September 2020.
The Governorate of Al-Wusta had the highest fish landing at 178,829 tons, followed by the Governorate of Ash-Sharqiah South at 144,719 tons, and North and South Batinah at 61,385 tons. The quantity of fish landed in the governorate of Dhofar was 55,874 tons, and the quantity in Musandam was 23,596 tons. The landed quantity in Governorate of Muscat stood at 23,455 tons.
According to fish landing by species, the largest quantity of fish landed at the end of September 2020 comprised small pelagic fishes at 278,092 tons, compared to 209,358 tons at the end of September 2019, a rise of 32.8%. The quantity of large pelagic fish rose by 78.4% to reach 119,789 tons at the end of September 2020 compared to 67,157 tons at the end of September 2019.
The quantity of demersal fish landed reached 71,386 tons, an increase of 30.5% compared to September 2019 when it was 54,707 tons. Meanwhile, there was a rise in the quantity of crustaceans and molluscs by 28.7%, while sharks and rays recorded a drop of 0.6%.