The Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development (AAAID), which is based in Dubai, has commenced operations at its new fish-processing plant in the Northwest African country of Mauritania.
The USD 28 million (EUR 24 million) facility has a processing capacity of 100,000 metric tons (MT) of fish and fish products with a storage capacity of 10,000 MT. AAAID will operate the facility through its affiliate, the Arab Mauritanian Fish Company (SAMAK), in partnership with several Mauritanian private firms.
The project also received the backing of the Mauritanian government, with President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani saying it aligns with the country's fisheries sector strategy of expanding domestic seafood-processing capability through joint ventures between local companies and foreign investors.
The plant, located in the Mauritanian coastal city of Nouadhibou, will primarily be focused on processing mackerel, sardines, and sardinella, as well as the production of fish oil and powder, for which Mauritania is known as a production hub.
“The project is expected to generate hundreds of direct and indirect job opportunities, expand Mauritania’s industrial base, and contribute to foreign currency earnings through increased fish exports,” AAAID said in a release about the facility.
The authority added that the facility is equipped with “world-class standards and advanced technologies including specialized capability in processing, freezing, and exporting small pelagic fish.”
Mauritania’s fisheries sector accounts for 2.8 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and has an estimated 155 approved processing factories, many of them sited along the country's coastline, according to an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report, which said these factories have a daily freezing capacity of approximately 4,000 MT and a storage capacity of more than 74,000 MT according to a previous report.
The IRENA report further explained that Mauritania, which estimates its annual fish catch at between 845,000 MT and 1.2 million MT, has recently moved toward “diversifying processing methods, particularly for small pelagic fish.”
