MUSCAT, SEPT 18
Publicly listed Oman Fisheries Company, minority owned by Fisheries Development Oman (FDO) – an affiliate of Oman Investment Authority (OIA) – announced on Sunday the signing of a purchase and marketing agreement with Al Wusta Fisheries Industries LLC.
The announcement came in a filing to the Capital Market Authority (CMA). The signing is part of the plans and ambitions of Oman Vision 2040 to enhance Omani fish exports at the global level, it stated.
Al Wusta Fisheries Industries (a subsidiary of FDO) was established in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources as part of the nation’s desire to further develop the fisheries sector. The company has been tasked with raising production from the pelagic fish stocks that abound in Oman’s coastal waters and the Indian Ocean.
Better known by its trade name, Oman Pelagic, Al Wusta Fisheries’ operations will focus on the development of horse mackerel stocks along Oman’s coast in the Arabian Sea and skipjack, yellowfin and big eye tuna in the Indian Ocean.
The company is also building dedicated fleets targeting, on the one hand, small pelagics – mackerel in particular, and on the other hand, large pelagics with a focus on tuna. Envisioned is a fleet of frozen fishing vessels that when fully deployed will contribute around 200,000 tonnes per year of horse mackerel to the company’s annual production.
