Oman is developing eight more fishing harbours and ports of varying sizes as part of a comprehensive plan to bolster the fisheries sector , a report said.

By 2020, as many as 30 fishing harbours or ports are expected to be operational, against 20 such ports now, Dr Hamed Said Al Oufi, undersecretary of fisheries wealth at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, was quoted as saying in the Times of Oman report.

“The total number of ports will depend on the availability of funds for developing these projects. We expect the oil prices to recover, which will enable us to finance these projects,” Dr Al Oufi said.

“We have completed Barka fishing harbour while two other harbours – Al Musanna and Liwa – are under construction and are in an advanced stage of completion. Also, we have five other fishing harbours in the pipeline, which include Masirah, Mahout and Shuwaimiya,” he added.

Several existing fishing harbours, including Dibba, Mirbath and Khabura, will be modernised or upgraded, he revealed.

Oman’s fish catch, including production through aquaculture, is expected to touch 500,000 tonnes per annum by 2020, from 270,000 tonnes of fish in 2015, according to the report.

“We expect fishermen to acquire 500 more fishing boats of varying sizes in the next three to four years. As of now, the fishermen in the country have more than 20,000 fishing boats,” Dr Al Oufi said, noting that an additional 10,000-15,000 new employment opportunities are likely to be created by 2020.