Bahrain - A new proposal on increasing investment in fish farms to ensure food safety and replenish stocks will be submitted to parliament in the upcoming legislative term.

It aims to create a national strategy for fish farming through a public private partnership to increase the sector’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

MP Mohammed Al Sisi, who is spearheading the proposal, said farming will also play a role in reducing the environmental impact of fishing and will also provide all kinds of fish throughout the year.

He has identified plots of land near the National Mariculture Centre in Raas Hayyan for the project and stressed the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors to ensure long-term sustainability and address dwindling fish stocks.

“Even though Bahrain is an island surrounded by water from all sides, it is still important to look into future investment in fish farming,” said Mr Al Sisi, who is parliament’s foreign affairs, defence and national security chairman.

“This is because traditional fishing methods are now facing obstacles such as legislation and restrictions including a ban on trawling and changes in issuing licences.

“Fish farming provides a continuous supply of fish throughout the year without being impacted by the seasons and it ensures the price of fish remains consistent – we have seen the price of fish reach BD10 per kilo and that’s astronomically high.”

Mr Al Sisi explained that the national strategy should have a specific target such as generating an ambitious 10 per cent of GDP from fish farming, which according to 2015 figures stand at 0.32pc from both agriculture and fish farming.

“There are many benefits for investing in fish farming such as reducing the pressure on natural resources while also releasing fish fingerlings raised in the farm into the wild to restock Bahrain’s marine population,” he added.

“We need a national strategy with a specific target such as generating 10pc of our GDP from fish farming within five years – this will be an incredible achievement as we are currently standing at 0.32pc from agriculture and fish farming as per 2015 figures.

“Successful fish farming could lead to other transformative industries springing up alongside it such as producing canned tuna and sardines and facilities for freezing, storage and packaging which will contribute to creation of jobs and implementation of the latest technology.

“However, it is important to remember that keeping the project as either 100pc government-owned or 100pc private sector-owned is wrong – a partnership is the only way to ensure the long-term survival and sustainability of the project for future generations.”

The core elements of the draft proposal were shared by fellow MP Yousif Zainal, who said increasing investment in fish farms was an important opportunity for the country to create more jobs while also implementing the latest technologies in the field.

“A successful country needs to find productive projects in order to reduce the national debt while also contributing to the national income and we need to invest in manufacturing,” he said.

“There are many technologies available from around the world that we can invest in to empower the fish farming industry.

“As a productive industry it can help reduce the national debt, increase the national income and create job opportunities while also diversifying the country’s sources of income.”

The GDN reported in July that a final feasibility study for a model fish farm project to breed hammour (grouper) has been completed, according to Shaikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Khalifa who was Agriculture and Marine Wealth Affairs Under-Secretary at the time.

Shaikh Mohammed, who has been reassigned by Royal Decree as the Municipalities Affairs Under-Secretary, said a hatchery will be set up to produce hammour larvae in addition to large-scale commercial production of the fish.

The 2,600 sqm farm aims to produce 54 tonnes of hammour by early 2022 and train Bahrainis on large-scale production of up to 60kg per cubic metre.

 

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