Oman has set up a pair of pilot marine fish farms along the Sea of Oman using purpose built artificial reef technology, a report said.

The farms are expected to contribute towards the sultanate’s important fisheries sector, added the Oman Daily Observer report.

The pilot marine farms, according to the head of the Korean firm supplying the technology for the marine farms, offers a sustainable solution for fisheries enhancement and habitat restoration in coastal waters that have suffered the effects of over fishing, coastal development, and even climate change, said the report.

Thriving amid the purpose-built artificial reef complexes at the heart of these pilot projects are large numbers of commercially valuable fish species, which were only a handful until 18 months ago, it added.
 
Ryan Paik, CEO of Haejoo Group, which designed and constructed the pilot marine farms to showcase their purpose-built artificial reef technology, said that the number of fish species recorded at these trial marine farms in Al Suwaiq and Al Seeb has grown ten-fold within 18 months.

He said that as many as 30 fish species have been seen in these farms, up from just three species when the reefs were installed.

Palik noted that they include a number of fish species of commercial value, such as grouper, snapper and seabream, with local fishermen already benefiting from this increased productivity.

The two pilot marine farms established by Haejoo boast an abundance of hamour (grouper), a commercially popular species of fish, stated the report.

Complementing these remarkable results is the discovery of significant marine growth on the reef structures including coral and microalgae that are an indispensable part of an ideal aquatic ecosystem, the marine farm specialist said.

Palik added that the results has encouraged hopes for the ramp-up of these pilots into commercial-scale marine farms to help fuel fisheries enhancement across the coasts of the sultanate.