File photo of fishermen fixing ‘Karkur’, a round metal fishing net, at the Al Wakrah fishing port.
The Ministry of Municipality and Environment is working towards expanding and developing the fishing ports of the country as the designs have been prepared for the expansion and development of the fishing ports in Al Khor, Al Wakrah and Fardhat Al Thakhira Harbor in cooperation with the Public Works Authority.
Also, to maintain fish stock, the Ministry is evaluating the fish stock in the country. The biological characteristics for the reproduction of the mostly-consumed fish have also been studied, said a magazine of the ministry. Furthermore, the current, maximum and sustainable exploitation rates of all types of fish have been determined in order to identify the quantities of fisheries in order to save the fish stock in the State.
It also allocated coastal and marine sites for the establishment of fish and shrimp farms by the private sector. In coordination with the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, preparations have been made to offer land in Al Arish (111 hectares) to be utilised by the private sector in the production of about 1,000 tonnes of shrimp per year, which allows Qatar to achieve full self-sufficiency of shrimp.
A national database of monitoring and analyzing the statistics of fisheries in all fish reproduction sites in the State was developed, operated and integrated with the Internet. In an effort to increase the self-sufficiency ratio of fish, the ministry has also given special attention to the projects of fish farming, as they are considered the most appropriate means to increase the self-sufficiency ratio while maintaining the fish stock.
The Aquaculture Research Centre in Ras Matbakh considered a developmental research project that aims at achieving a high ratio of self-sufficiency through the development of aquaculture industry on which a number of medium-sized fish farms depends.
The annual fish production is between 12,000 and 14,000 tonnes. It meets around 80 percent of the local demand, and the remaining 20 percent demand is met through imports.
