OMAN 



The U.S. Embassy in Muscat, Oman, prepared the following report on the fisheries of Oman. The report has 

 been edited only slightly to help it conform to other country reports." 



1. General Background 12 



Oman has rich, if underdeveloped, marine 

 resources, which include demersal (such as grouper 

 and emperor fish), small pelagic (sardines), and large 

 pelagic (tuna and kingfish) species. Oman's fisheries 

 wealth is the result of favorable currents and 

 associated migrations of the large pelagic fish. The 

 bulk of Omani fishing is done by traditional 

 fishermen. In 1991, traditional fishing accounted for 

 88 percent of fish landings, and 79 percent of the 

 total value of fish caught. Government policies 

 encourage Omanis to become fishermen. The size of 

 the local catch is not limited, for instance. The 

 "fishermen's encouragement fund" frequently 

 subsidizes the purchase of new vessels and engines. 

 The ranks of Omani fishermen have swollen to the 

 point that the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries 

 estimates 20,000 Omanis are now involved in fishing. 

 As a result of this increase, the shallow waters of 

 Oman's northern coast have become overfished. 



2. Fleet Background 



Omanis traditionally fish from locally-made 

 vessels (dhows, houris and shashas) ranging from 

 four to twelve meters in length. These vessels are 

 still used in small numbers, but are powered by 

 outboard motors. Nowadays, eighty percent of local 

 fishermen use faster, foreign-made, fiberglass skiffs. 

 The Ministries of Commerce and of Industry and 

 Agriculture and Fisheries have plans to jointly 

 sponsor a project to provide local fishermen access to 

 larger vessels. The plan calls for fiberglass hulls to 

 be constructed in Oman, with motors to be imported 

 from abroad. The vessels will come in two sizes: 1-3 

 tons, and 10-15 tons. These craft will have greater 

 fishhold capacity then the vessels currently used, as 

 well as refrigeration capability, and will allow Omani 

 fishermen to spend longer periods (3-5 days) at sea. 

 The fishermen are currently restricted to day trips 

 only. 



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