English abstract
Abstract:
Aquaculture in Oman is in its early developmental stages with the Government currently working on attracting businesses to venture into the industry. However, management tools and methods are still under development and have not yet been implemented. This study aims to look at the case study of the newly developed Tilapia RAS model farms by Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) that are currently in their initial phases of production to review Better Management Practices (BMP) in relation to aquaculture development, investigate current legislations and regulation in Oman, investigate stakeholder awareness and perceptions on the regulatory mechanics, and identify gaps between international and national BMPs. The stakeholders were divided into two groups; primary stakeholders who are the farmers of the model farms, and secondary stakeholders who are decision makers, academics, and scientists in the country. The results showed that even though aquaculture is in its infancy in Oman, there is need for comprehensive regulations and practices where the main law governing aquaculture is the Fisheries Law that does not take into account all aspects of aquaculture. Furthermore, a gap was witnessed between the primary and secondary stakeholders in their direction for aquaculture based on the sustainable development model; the primary stakeholders focused on the economical dimension while the secondary stakeholders
agreed that the institutional dimension is of far more importance to develop aquaculture.
This gap identified shows that there is need for a middle ground to meet both directions to provide a comprehensive management framework to include all aspects of importance and concern. Additionally, the study recommended some steps to help in establishing and putting together a basis on what standards must be in place and other methods and practices that must be introduced or implemented in the upcoming management framework by looking at characteristics of international aquaculture framework and what aspect need to be highlighted for a sustainable aquaculture industry.
