November 22, 2019

Qatar's aquaculture industry expected to hit 90% of its annual need by 2023

The country's new Aquatic Fisheries and Research Centre will support its self-sufficiency policy, supplying 2.4 million partly-subsidised fingerlings to commercial aquaculture facilities, reported The New Arab.

In turn, these facilities are expected to produce 7,000 tonnes of fish and shrimp annually. The US$65-million centre is set to open in 2020.

The centre will also be a hub for researchers to study how they can adapt new technologies to farming local fish species. Plus, a Ministry of Municipality and Environment consultancy office has been set up to run experiments on aquaculture's impact on economic feasibility.

Qatar's yearly fish consumption is 22.3kg per capita, which far outweighs current production capacities that local aquaculture facilities can produce.

The country has implemented several bans to protect the industry from depletion. This includes a trawler ban; a halt on issuing fishing licenses and a fish catch ceiling at 14,000 tonnes annually.

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment anticipate aquaculture as the primary source to meet increased demand for a population that has grown four times larger from 20 years ago.

Mohammed Mahmoud Al Abdullah, director of the Aquatic Fisheries and Research Centre said they will not export local aquaculture production. He invited aquaculture producers to farm tilapia, an inexpensive freshwater herbivore species consumed in Asia. 88% of Qatar's population consist of foreign residents from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines.

A partnership with the United Kingdom to develop legalisation for regulating aquaculture has been announced.

-      The New Arab