The Peninsula Newspaper reported on 10 April 2023 that Qatar has enhanced its local seafood production to at least 3 million fingerlings in a year in an attempt to strengthen Qatar's food security further.

As per the report, The Agricultural Affairs Department at the Ministry of Municipality has recently signed an agreement with local company Agrico to operate Aquatic Research Center at Ras Matbakh. Based on the agreement, the ministry and the local counterpart will be working together to increase local seafood production.

Director of Fish Affairs Department, Abdulaziz Mohammed Al Dehaimi explained the following, "The agreement aims at increasing the production of the Center by over 30 per cent from two million to three million fingerlings and larvae of most popular local fish and prawns in a year".

He further mentioned that five types of fingerlings will be produced, which include Al Safi, Al Sebaiti, Al Sha’m, Al Hamour and prawns, and the recent agreement is a project termed for three years which began on 1 March 2023.

Abdulaziz Mohammed Al Dehaim also mentioned that Agrico will be able to meet the target and contribute to the increase of fish production by releasing baby fish into Qatari water and supplying fingerlings to local fish farms.

It was also mentioned that ever since the opening of the Aquatic Research Center at Ras Matbakh in 2019, over 6 million fingerlings of Al Sha’m and Al Hamour fish have been released into the sea.

Source & cover image credit: The Peninsula

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Fareeha Imtiaz

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