FDO group investment director Salim Al Mamari, left, and group director of business development Badar Said Al Naabi at the Oman fisheries stand at Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona earlier this year. “We aim to enhance Oman’s standing in international fisheries markets while unlocking the untapped potential for aquaculture development," said Al Naabi.

Oman chooses AquaBioTech Group to guide big push into aquaculture

Malta-based consultancy will provide strategy advice and due diligence for investment arm with $1.2 billion budget

Editorial team
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Fisheries Development Oman (FDO), a fisheries investment arm of the state-owned Oman Investment Authority (OIA), has signed an advisory contract with Malta-based aquaculture consultant AquaBioTech Group.

AquaBioTech will provide a comprehensive range of consulting and advisory services to support FDO to develop sustainable aquaculture and fisheries sectors in the Sultanate of Oman. Support will include business strategy development and technical due diligence services.

Situated to the east of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Oman has a near-2,000-mile coastline bordering the Gulf of Oman in the north and the Arabian Sea to the east.

£917m investment pot

FDO is mandated to co-invest in diverse aquaculture, fisheries, and marine biotechnology industries across Oman, with a funding allocation of US $1.2 billion (£917 million) from the government. The country has already made significant investments in strategic aquaculture projects, including seabream cage farming with Blue Waters LLC, semi-intensive shrimp farms in the Al Sharqiyah South governorate, and the construction of a fishing port in Duqm.

FDO said its investments in key fishery infrastructures and business segments will act as a catalyst for further growth, and diversification in the fishery sector ensuring long-term sustainability. Its efforts align with the broader objectives for sustainable development and economic diversification highlighted in Oman’s Vision 2040 strategy.

“The fisheries sector is a vital pillar of Oman’s economy,” Badar Said Al Naabi, group director of business development at FDO, said in a press release. “Through FDO's strategic investments and initiatives, we aim to enhance Oman’s standing in international fisheries markets while unlocking the untapped potential for aquaculture development.”

Shane Hunter: FDO ambitions "are both bold and attainable".

New opportunities

AquaBioTech Group chief executive Shane Hunter said: “This development contract underscores FDO’s strong commitment to aquaculture and opens the door to new and emerging market opportunities.

“FDO's ambitions for Oman's aquaculture sector are both bold and attainable, and through this partnership, we are dedicated to realising these goals.”

Other areas of investment interest that FDO is considering include:

  • land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) farming for various species, including salmon, grouper and European seabass 
  • tuna penning / ranching
  • seriola (kingfish) farming
  • fish / shrimp feed production
  • microalgae production
  • mussel farming
  • broodstock development for various fish and shrimp species
  • abalone farming
  • macro-algae / seaweed farming
  • sea cucumber farming
  • oyster farming
  • ornamental fish / coral propagation
  • bioprospecting of molecules from marine source
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