The Wilayat of Mirbat in the Dhofar Governorate celebrated on Thursday the inauguration of a prestigious Omani abalone farming project developed by Oman Aquaculture Company at a total cost of RO 10 million and with an annual production capacity of 600 tonnes.
The opening ceremony was held under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Marwan bin Turki al Said, Governor of Dhofar, in the presence of Dr Saud bin Hamoud al Habsi, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources; Shaikh Salim bin Mustahail al Maashani, Adviser at the Diwan of Royal Court, and a number of officials in the public and private sectors.
This project comes within the framework of the plans of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources to encourage the private sector to diversify investment in the field of food security in general and fisheries in particular.
Dr Saud al Habsi said: “The project is one of the vital value-added initiatives that help achieve the ministry’s vision of investing in the field of fish farming as well as contributing to serve the local community and creating job opportunities for Omani youth.”
The project is located on an area of 37,240 square metres, with a built up area of 8,900 square metres, and includes a number of facilities and services that contribute to the production of abalone according to the highest standards and specifications.
The Mirbat venture exemplifies a successful effort to commercially produce Golden Abalone (Haliotis Mariae), a high-value locally occurring species which is billed as the third most valuable species of abalone in the world. Together with similar private-led farming and hatchery ventures under various stages of development on Oman’s Al Wusta and Dhofar coasts, the projects aim to sustain the farming of Omani abalone for local consumption and export as well.
