Fish landings up by 4.6%, artisanal fishing accounts major share

2026-03-07 - 17:37

MuscatThe total value of fish landed through artisanal, coastal and commercial fishing in Oman reached about RO481mn by the end of November 2025, marking a 4.9% increase compared with RO458.402mn recorded during the same period in 2024. Preliminary data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information showed that total fish landings reached 723,011 tonnes by the end of November 2025, up 4.6% from 691,276 tonnes in the corresponding period of 2024. Artisanal fishing accounted for the largest share, with landings increasing 3.1% to 641,836 tonnes, compared with 622,646 tonnes a year earlier. By governorate, Al Wusta recorded the highest artisanal fish landings at 220,813 tonnes. It was followed by South Sharqiyah with 196,652 tonnes, while North Batinah and South Batinah together recorded 77,288 tonnes. Other landings included 65,510 tonnes in Dhofar, 47,059 tonnes in Musandam and 34,514 tonnes in Muscat governorate. Commercial fishing recorded the strongest growth, rising 20.4% to 73,614 tonnes by the end of November 2025, compared with 61,144 tonnes during the same period in 2024. Coastal fishing increased marginally by 1% to 7,561 tonnes, up from 7,486 tonnes a year earlier. In terms of species, small pelagic fish accounted for the largest share of artisanal landings at 326,792 tonnes, followed by large pelagic fish at 194,377 tonnes and demersal fish at 93,162 tonnes. Landings also included 6,752 tonnes of sharks, 10,612 tonnes of crustaceans and molluscs, and 10,143 tonnes of other unclassified species.