The Fish Wealth Department of Qatar's Ministry of Municipality and Environment and Al Qamra Holding Group recently signed a contract to establish a fish farming project involving floating cages in the sea, said a report.

Assistant undersecretary of Agricultural Affairs, Livestock and Fisheries at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser Al Thani, signed the contract with chairman of Al Qamra Holding, Hamad al-Qamra, and a number of stakeholders, added the Gulf Times report.

Dr Faleh confirmed that this project is the first of its kind in Qatar and will provide 2,000 tonnes of high quality fish which will be popular with consumers, it said.

He added that in addition to the economic importance of the project, it also has environmental aspects reflected in maintaining fish stocks and reducing fishing of high demand variety like the grouper.

Head of Fisheries Section at the ministry, Abdulaziz al-Dehaimi, highlighted the importance of food security saying it is one of the most important goals the State is working on.

The official added that Qatar pays great attention to fish farming projects as they help in increasing local fish production.

He further noted that the ministry is taking necessary measures to limit fishing efforts and fix the volume of annual catch, with the aim of protecting fish stocks from attrition in order to preserve it for future generations.