The Omani promoter of a stalled ‘open ocean’ fish farm venture hopes to realunch the project off Al Khabourah on the sultanate’s North Al Batinah coast.

The proposed ‘Al Sahwa’ mariculture project centres on the cultivation of amberjack fish, a high-value sashimi-grade product coveted in Japan and the Far East, a report in the Oman Daily Observer said.

Warith al Kharousi, CEO of Al Safwa Group & Partners, said the company is hopeful of kickstarting the process of getting the relevant approvals early next year, under the ‘relicensing’ procedures introduced during the recent Tanfeedh Labs for the fisheries sector, the report said.

He added that if that happens, they are confident of commencing production of amberjack by the 2019-2020 timeframe, with output ramped up to 8,000 – 10,000 tonnes per annum by 2023.

The ambitious project, first unveiled about five years ago, has been allocated a 150-hectare offshore site some 15 km off the Al Khabourah shoreline.