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The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources has announced the start of work on a unique marine farmed fish project that harnesses Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) technology to meet stringent sustainability standards – a first in the Sultanate of Oman.
Conceived as a pilot initiative, the 8-tonne capacity project is being built at Al Musannah in South Al Batinah Governorate with a focus on the farming of Sea Bream (Sparus aurata).
The small-scale project, financed with support from the Ministry’s Agricultural and Fisheries Development Fund, is being implemented by the Aquaculture Development Center at the Ministry’s Directorate General of Fisheries Research, according to a key project official.
“As a principal investigator of the project, we are pleased to start implementing a project in the Sultanate of Oman for the first time with a water recycling system and to produce up to 8 tonnes of marine farmed fish, as this technology is being applied in saltwater farms for the first time in Oman,” said Adel al Balushi, Aquaculture Specialist at the Aquaculture Centre.
“Starting from the stage of supplying and installing equipment, (it progresses) to the trial operation stage and then to the actual operation for one production cycle,” he stated in a recent post.
RAS are land-based aquaculture facilities that reuse water by cycling it through a series of filtration and treatment units with a limited addition of make-up water. The highly sustainable nature of these operations reduces the amount of water and space needed for aquaculture.
According to Al Balushi, the pilot will herald the introduction of new aquaculture technology to support the cultivation of diverse fish species in sustainable farms. The facility will also serve as a vehicle for conducting training workshops to help foster interest in sustainable aquaculture within the fishing community and among entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the project is expected to spawn the growth of SME-sized fish farming initiatives that will provide employment opportunities for young Omanis.
Importantly, a number of environmental benefits are associated with Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) technology based farms. For one, they are an effective solution to the environmental impact of climate change on the fish farming sector.
Furthermore, as a super-intensive fish farming system, water resources are utilized with high efficiency. The system also eliminates the need for biological additives, potentially harmful chemicals, and waste disposal.
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