The government of the United Arab Emirates has announced a new initiative to develop its aquaculture industry.
The UAE’s Department of Economic Development (DED), in cooperation with the Ministry of Food Security, is part of a “national strategy to develop a comprehensive framework to enable food production and ensure quality food for future generations,” according to a press release.
As part of the initiative, the government will issue an unspecified number of permits for commercial aquaculture farms and post-harvest aquaculture services.
“Aquaculture activities to be permitted include commercial farms specialized in the cultivation of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, algae, other aquatic animals and plants on the coast or offshore, as well as commercial cultivation of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals in ponds, in addition to specialized aquaculture facilities,” the DED said. “Post-harvest aquaculture services added to the activities list cover firms providing services that are required following harvesting of aquaculture, such as, preparation and temporary refrigeration of the aquaculture products for sale, excluding any conversion processes. Firms specialized in the production of broodstock, eggs, larva, juvenile fish and other aquatic organisms to support commercial aquaculture fall under the aquaculture hatchery operation activity, while wholesale or retail trading of aquatic animals and plants from local farms are also included in the new list.”
The DED initiative is part of a governmental effort to diversify the country’s economy and create industrial sectors that will add more jobs to the economy in the United Arab Emirates – and Dubai in particular, according to DED Director General Sami Al Qamzi.
"The introduction of the new activities comes within the framework of enhancing coordination and integration of government work at both the federal and local levels, realizing the objectives of the UAE Vision 2021, activating initiatives that facilitate business related to agricultural production, and achieving sustainable development,” Al Qamzi said. “It will improve local agricultural production, encourage the consumption of fresh local produce and particularly meet the growing demand for fish locally."
Crown Prince of Dubai Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum personally has a stake on the sector, having invested in a sea bass and sea bream hatchery, caged fish farm, and two recirculation aquaculture systems in 2018, according to Gulf News. The operations are collectively set to produce 100,000 metric tons of seafood annually, and are branching into the production of yellowtail kingfish, Atlantic salmon, and hamour, or brown spotted reef cod.
A second caged fish farm, to be owned and operated by the public-private partnership Dubai World Central (also known as Dubai South), and backed by UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE), was announced in December 2018.
And last year, salmon importer Vikings Label announced plans to build a USD 90 million (EUR 79.5 million) hatchery and recirculating aquaculture system in Dubai, according to Hatchery International.
“We see a huge growth potential for salmon in Dubai, and that growth will result from a combination of marine farming in Norway and land-based fish farming near the Dubai market,” Vikings Label CEO Tore Havn said.
Minister of Climate Change and Environment Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi said the shift toward aquaculture represented the country’s efforts to support high-tech businesses and efforts that helped establish the country’s food security.
"National enterprises that are based on top-notch research studies and technologies are key drivers in our efforts to diversify food sources and increase the share of food produced at home to meet the needs of the local market,” Al Zeyoudi told Arabian Business. "Fish is an important component of our local cuisine in the UAE, and we need to make sure our fisheries and fish stocks can continue to support the growing demands of our population."
The UAE produced 3,255 metric tons of aquaculture products in 2017, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Seafood consumption in the UAE reached 210,000 metric tons in 2017, while the country’s wild-catch fisheries produced 73,000 metric tons of seafood that year, according to Gulf News.
