الملخص الإنجليزي
Seafood is a dominant sector in the global food industry and remains one of the fastest
growing protein sources consumed world-wide. Food corporations recognize that
commercial transparency and traceability are critical to brand enhancement, risk
mitigation, food safety, and consumer confidence. The capacity to track a seafood
through specific production, processing, and distribution stages is known as the seafood
traceability system (STS). Nonetheless in Oman, seafood often moves very long
distances, in and out of multiple ports, and changes hands among various brokers,
wholesalers, processors, and retailers before reaching the consumer. Currently, only a
fraction of wild-caught fish products can be sufficiently traced to meet these growing
demands for transparency among the establishments.
The present study aims to assess the current implementation of the STS in the seafood
establishments in the Sultanate of Oman and identify the gaps in seafood traceability
needed for a better implementation and outcomes. The study was conducted using a
questionnaire, and the approach was based on Likert scales (1–5), close-ended
questions, and open-ended questions (providing a descriptive response). Two sets of
questionnaires, in English and Arabic, were designed to target two groups of
participants: seafood establishments and government officials. The questionnaires were
distributed "online" and by personal visits depending on the location of the
establishment. The questionnaire received responses from 32 seafood establishments
and 16 government officials. Answers were analyzed using baseline statistics (means,
modes, median, and range), normality test using shapiro-wilk test, in addition to the
Chi-square test, and one sample t-test or one-sample Wilcoxon signed rank test where
applicable. In addition, the internal answers consistency was validated by using the
Cronbach Alpha index.
Results indicated that the governmental officials are only agreed on the laws and
regulations in addressing and covering the legal requirements of the STS. The seafood
establishments believe that they will benefit from the implementation of STS within the
supply chain, but at the same time, they think that it will be difficult to implement. The
seafood industry is more optimistic/positive about the current STS implementation than
the officials. There is a strong need to implement STS throughout the supply chains
(internal and external, domestic and export). There are difficulties and gaps with STS
implementation in Oman (awareness, technology, knowledge and research,
implementation), and it is a necessity to bridge the gaps between the government and
Omani seafood establishments. The study recommended, among others, that 1) the
government and the seafood establishment must collaborate to improve communication
between them, 2) raise public understanding of the advantages of STS, the government
and interested organizations should sponsor awareness-raising campaign, 3) It is
strongly advised that cost-benefit analysis studies be conducted, and the findings should
be communicated to possible stakeholders. In addition, it's important to research the
variables that influence STS adoption.
