Researchers from Oman’s Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, have successfully established an experimental farm to produce barramundi or Asian sea bass fish.

The project, which received the support of The Research Council (TRC) for two years, focuses on researching methods of contributing to the national revenues through fish farming, both by increasing income and rationalizing the volume of water used in fish farming, reported Oman News Agency (ONA).

Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) is found in the Indian Ocean and the west Pacific zone and it lives in fresh water, river mouth and some sea zones.

This type of fish is considered a new species that enters the aquaculture industry in the Sultanate. Over the past few years, a research group from the Marine Sciences section explored opportunities for breeding barramundi and it gained great experience in the field.

In 2016, a number of students managed to raise adult barramundi at an average size of 800 grams by the 10th month at the SQU’s aquaculture farm.