Page 16 - AA 2022 YEAR BOOK

Editorial

shrimp species (i.e. P. indicus and others) • Lobster ranching i.e. catching juve-
were initially trialed, however, currently nile and/or small lobsters and growing
the white shrimp P. vannamei is the main them to market size. While this type of
species due to its availability (SPF and culture is common in several South East
SPR), number of production cycles per Asia countries and was suggested as a
year and fast growth rate. The majority of potential option to boost the Omani lob-
the production is exported. ster fisheries (Kolkovski, 2020), it is yet to
turn into commercial reality.
Fin Fish
• Micro algae such as Dunaliella salina
The two main species cultured in the (source of beta carotene) was trialed in
NAQUA ponds and sea-water intake GCC are European sea bass and Gilt- KSA. However, no commercial produc-
Goggle Earth head Sea bream. Until recently and still tion is currently happening in the GCC.
in most cases, juveniles are imported
Sea cages
from either Greece or Turkey. Some of the hurdles the industry is fac-
The majority of marine fish, including ing include:
Barramundi or Asian sea bass are also
European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax grown successfully either from local • Lack of skilled and knowledge man-
and Gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata, broodstock or imported. power
as well as Asian sea bass Lates calcarifer
are grown in modern sea cages. Integrat- Plans for a large, 10,000 MT of salmon • Shortage of local juvenile supply (while
ing European technology for sea cages, in RAS system were recently announced new hatcheries are planned and/or been
many of the cage farms are automated by Fish Farm LLC in Dubai. Food security established, most of the fish juveniles are
and monitored with integrated feed aside, while the technology exists with still imported)
barges or ships and automated feeding many salmon RAS projects around the • Local feed supply (aside from NAQUA
systems. world and energy is (relatively) cheap KSA, there is no aquaculture feed mill in
in this region, the commercial validity
RAS (versus importing Norwegian, Danish, the region)
In recent years, RAS (Recirculating Scottish salmon) of a cold-water species • Extreme environmental threats such as
Aquaculture System) has gained con- cultured in one of the hottest zones in the red tide, high evaporation rate and high
siderable interest in the GCC countries world is yet to be established. salinity in certain parts of the Gulf.
with several large projects in the plan- Every country in the GCC has a fu- The marine aquaculture in the Ara-
ning and/or construction phase or al- ture developing plan for the aquacul- bian Gulf and Red Sea is booming.
ready established and operating. These ture industry. In most cases, these plans With significant government investment
projects are all based on and built by include species selection recommenda- and support, a development road maps
European companies (Denmark, Norway tions, some of which include species with and plans, investor incentives, a strong
and few other north European countries known technology and availability such demand for seafood (fish) and export
which have a very strong presence in the as sea bream and sea bass and/or spe-
GCC aquaculture sector). While ideal for cies endemic to the region such as Yel- markets for shrimps, the future seems
hatcheries (biosecurity, constant condi- lowtail kingfish Seriola lalandi (FAO and promising for the region to become a
tions etc.) and non-endemic species (re- the Ministry of Environment, Water and significant global seafood supplier.
ducing or preventing escapes), the com- Agriculture KSA, 2017).
mercial viability compared to sea cage
production is yet to be seen. In some cases, recommendations (ei-
ther articles or government recommen-
dations) have narrow views looking only
at the value and growth rate of species
without considering local knowledge,
the level of technology needed, failures
around the world and other constraints.
Some recommended high value species
such as bigeye and yellowfin tuna.
Future developments and species se-
lection should be based on a combina-
tion of both species’ availability, value
and technology challenges, as well as,
Sharjah f sh market, UAE
local knowledge and technology avail- Sea cucumber
Species Selection ability (Kolkovski, 2019). Courtesy of NAQUA
Others
Shrimp
• Sea cucumber Holothuria Scabra are al- Dr. Kolkovski is an aquaculture
In the past decade, shrimp farming ready cultured in KSA and are sold fresh, Dr. Kolkovski is an aquaculture
consultant and co-founder of
has become the main seafood produced dry or frozen (no available data on quan- consultant and co-founder of
Nutrakol Pty Ltd.
in the GCC countries. Several different tities). Nutrakol Pty Ltd.
14 Arab Agriculture 2022