An article
in the online edition of Oman Daily Observer mentions the figure of Omani Rial
(RO) 100 million (or USD 260 million) over five years financial assistance
package to the Omani fishing and aquaculture industry.
The article quotes Dr Hamed bin Said al Oufi,
Fisheries Wealth Under-Secretary as saying that the bulk of the subsidies will
go to fisheries infrastructure. Dr. Al Oufi added that the planned amount was
"is more than four times what was allotted during the previous Plan"
and that "part of the allocation will also help finance the upgrade of the
fishing fleet, marketing chain infrastructure, training, exploration of new
markets, and improvements in the quality of fish."
Speaking
about the state of the Omani fisheries industry he said that: “Subsidies are
not the only thing that fishermen will need. There are other sources of
financing: the Oman Development Bank (ODB), for example, gives loans at almost
zero interest rate. This is the future of developing the sector. Subsidies, on
the other hand, have two sides — a positive side and a negative side. People
get subsidies and don’t become active because they don’t have to pay back
anything.”
Another
interesting statement by Dr. Al Oufi refers to the export prohibitions in place
for "five notified species" . Looking in the Internet for more
information on this export bans I found an article in the Oman Tribune where it
is stated that the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, issued a decision
banning export of kanad (kingfish), sahwa (tuna), al gethar, and al safi for
six months, from December 1, 2011.
Here is the
link to the article on subsidies in the Oman Daily Observer:
Here the
link to the article of the Oman Tribune
on the export prohibitions.
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