The United Arab Emirates’ efforts to woo more private-sector participation through the implementation of the country’s Aquaculture Pulse 2000 seafood blueprint is gaining momentum, with the emirate of Dubai reporting it has already issued permits to 401 different companies engaged in various seafood business segments.
Dubai’s Business Registration and Licensing department said the companies have applied for licenses to invest in “fishing, marine animal catching, sea-based aquaculture, pearl cultivation, aquaculture hatcheries, fish and seafood canning and preserving, and processing vessels,” among other spheres of seafood business.
“This reflects Dubai’s focus on strengthening the marine and aquaculture wealth as one of the pillars of economic, social, and environmental development that contribute significantly to supporting national food security,” Fish Farm LLC Chief Executive Bader Mubarak said. Fish Farm is one of the largest aquaculture investors in the U.A.E., producing 30 percent of total domestic demand for “sea bream, sea bass, hammour, salmon, and the famous Japanese yellowtail kingfish.”
Other companies that are already established in U.A.E.’s seafood market include Al Jaraf Fisheries LLC and Alwathba Investment LLC, which owns Emirates fish farms.
The private sector’s participation in U.A.E.’s fisheries is important to support the country’s goal of reducing seafood imports. Currently imports comprise 75 percent of the annual national consumption of 220,000 metric tons. That total makes the U.A.E. the top consumer of seafood among the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, formerly the Gulf Cooperation Council.
For Fish Farm, the focus in the short- to medium-term, according to Mubarak.
"[It] is to provide the country with fish that are difficult to produce, as we started with sea bream, sea bass and hammour, and then focused on farming salmon," he said. "Our goal is not to compete with local fishermen but replace 92 percent of fish imports, in addition to encouraging entrepreneurs who want to explore this sector, by providing assistance through our team of consultants."
An anticipated uptick in seafood consumption fueled by an increasing population of consumers that prefer more protein servings could mean more opportunities for private sector investors in the U.A.E., a country that has the goal of being listed among the top 10 most secure countries by 2050.
Photo courtesy of Fish Farm LLC
