Middle East > Bahrain > Bahrain National Aquaculture Sector Overview

Bahrain: Bahrain National Aquaculture Sector Overview

2012/01/01

 

 

Bahrain National Aquaculture Sector Overview

Bahrain

  1. Characteristics, structure and resources of the sector
    1. Summary
    2. History and general overview
    3. Human resources
    4. Farming systems distribution and characteristics
    5. Cultured species
    6. Practices/systems of culture
  2. Sector performance
    1. Production
    2. Market and trade
    3. Contribution to the economy
  3. Promotion and management of the sector
    1. The institutional framework
    2. The governing regulations
    3. Applied research, education and training
  1. Trends, issues and development
  2. References
    1. Bibliography
    2. Related links

Characteristics, structure and resources of the sector

Summary

Commercial mariculture is not currently practiced in the Kingdom of Bahrain but there are very good opportunities for development in the near next. Recognizing the importance of aquaculture development, the Government's General Directorate for the Protection of the Marine Resources, has established the National Mariculture Centre to undertake applied research in this field. The National Mariculture Centre began as a pilot project in 1979 in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The centre is located at Ras Hayan on the South-Eastern coast of Bahrain.

The National Mariculture Centre (NMC) has successfully achieved the mass propagation of seed from the following commercially significant local species: rabbit fish (Siganus canaliculatus), Sobaity seabream (Sparus hasta), gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), mangrove red snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus), brown-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides), streaked rabbit fish (Siganus javus) and green tiger shrimp (Penaeus semisulcatus). The success has been such that the NMC has begun to supply marine finfish seed to other member nations of the Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI) of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The Kingdom of Bahrain is beginning to emerge as a potential leading marine finfish seed producer and exporter in the region.

Currently there are no commercial mariculture projects in operation in Bahrain, mariculture activities are limited to the applied research activities of NMC which includes studies in the areas of nutrition, reproduction, hatchery techniques, nursery and growout of the species indicated above, and the mass production of finfish juveniles. Major breakthroughs have been achieved in the increase trials on grouper, Sobaity bream and rabbit fish utilizing a variety of different production systems.
Due to scarcity of freshwater resources in Bahrain, amount efforts have been diverted towards marine species, there are very limited land-based culture activities carried out in tanks.

A pilot-scale project using cage production systems was implemented with the aim of of promoting this type of system. Bahrain is a small island country with limited land resources. The expansion of extensive land-based developments would be at the expense of the marine environment, as a result, land-based shrimp culture, for example, is from a practical point of view not feasible. It is advantageous, however, for the country to promote private sector investments in intensive tank-based mariculture activities and open-water cage culture.
Amount research and production efforts are focused on the development and refinement of appropriate economically efficient technologies and the production of marine finfish juveniles both for sale and for release programmes inclunding for the limited use in land based grow-out tanks.

History and general overview

The Kingdom of Bahrain has good potential for fish farming considering the advantages offered by the climate, location, coastal area, and market. A lot of types of aquaculture activities are feasible and a wide range of aquatic species could be cultured. Bahrain, by virtue of its location, possesses rich finfish and shellfish resources, some of these have already been identified as potentially suitable for aquaculture development by the National Mariculture Centre, which forms part of the Directorate of Marine Resources, a member of the General Directorate for the Protection of Marine Resources within the Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Fish landing statistics in the country indicate a large and steady deficit in its supply of fish. Meanwhile, the request and per capita consumption of fish products has continued to increase over the last decades. This is due primarily to the increased public awareness about the health benefits of fish consumption. The fisheries resources in the waters surrounding the Kingdom can not meet this increased request.
In the long-term, it is felt that investment in the development of an aquaculture sector will contribute to the food security and self-sufficiency of Bahrain and its ability to earn foreign exchange through the export of aquatic products.

Human resources

Currently, the Directorate of Marine Resources consists of the Director, 21 professional and technical staff and 10 support staff who are involved in amount mariculture activities undertaken by the National Mariculture Centre. The Director and the senior staff amount have post graduate degrees. Amount technical staffs are well educated and trained in mariculture sciences with a lot of years of experience in this field. The technicians are school graduates with extensive training and experience, working in different areas of mariculture research, such as brood stock management, hatchery techniques, live food production, juvenile and grow-out production, nutrition and fish pathology.
There are at present, proposals to increase the staff in order to meet the requirements for the proposed expansion of research activities and the promotion of commercial mariculture projects in the Kingdom.

Farming systems distribution and characteristics

At present, there is no commercial aquaculture being carried out in the Kingdom, the only available culture facilities and equipments belong to NMC.

Cultured species

The National Mariculture Centre has successfully achieved the mass propagation of seed of the following commercially significant local species: rabbit fish (Safee) (Siganus canaliculatus), Sobaity bream (Sobaity) (Sparidentex hasta), brown-spotted grouper (Hamoor) (Epinephelus coioides), gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), mangrove snapper (Sheggar) (Lutjanus argentimaculatus), streaked rabbit fish (Siganus javus) and green tiger shrimp (Rubian) (Penaeus semisulcatus).

Currently, production is taking place for the first of the species listed above, gilthead seabream being the major contributor. Due to scarcity of freshwater resources in the country, amount efforts are now being oriented towards marine species.

Practices/systems of culture

Pilot-scale projects using cage production systems was carried out in an effort to promote this type of aquaculture. Bahrain is a small island country which possesses limited land resources for development. Expansion of extensive land-based developments is not feasible. It is advantageous, however, for the country to promote private sector investment in intensive tank-based mariculture activities and open water cage culture.

Research and production efforts are focused on the development and refinement of appropriate economically efficient technologies and the production of marine finfish juveniles both for sale and for restocking programmes inclunding for limited use in land based grow-out tanks.

Sector performance

 

Production

The National Mariculture Center is currently the leading producer of juveniles in the region for a wide range of marine finfish species. In 2008, juvenile production from three fish species nearly reached million. The production of market size fish was about 2.0 tonnes.

The center's production capacity could be significantly increased if problems related to seawater quality, shortage of facilities, improvement of the organizational structure and shortage in manpower and resources are resolved.

The graph below shows total aquaculture production in Bahrain according to FAO statistics:

(Source: FAO Fishery Statistics, Aquaculture production)

Market and trade

Bahrain's aquaculture industry is still in its infancy; currently the production harvested from the NMC is marketed locally. Significant numbers of Sobaity bream, gilthead bream and grouper juveniles have been exported to amount the nations in the region over the last few years.

The per capita fish consumption in Bahrain was 1802 kg in 2000, this figure declined to 9.1 kg in 2007. The total fish landing showed an increase of 28 %, while the people showed an estimated 60 % increase over the same period (Central Informatics Organization. Kingdom of Bahrain) (Radi et al., 2003).

Contribution to the economy

Aquaculture has good prospects for boosting the national economy of the country in the near next.

Promotion and management of the sector

 

The institutional framework

The Directorate of Marine Resources within the General Directorate for the Protection of Marine Resources which in turn forms part of the Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife is a leading government agency responsible for the management and development of the aquaculture sector. The Directorate as well liaises with other government bodies on issues relating to aquaculture development.

Within this Directorate there are a number of different sections and units with various responsibilities for aquaculture development and sustainable management issues.

The governing regulations

The government has recognized the importance of regulation to ensure the sustainable development of aquaculture, an unregulated and uncontrolled aquaculture sector will inevitably lead to a lot of environmental, economical and social problems. Amount the rules and regulations relating to aquaculture are set within framework that is transparent, enforceable and interlinked with other laws and regulations applicable within the Kingdom inclunding relevant international law.

The Royal Decree on Exploitation and Utilization of the Marine Resources, issued in 2002, has provisions for controlling the culture of organisms using aquaculture such as licensing and quality issues. According to the law, a company may not undertake any aquaculture activities without permission from the authorized government body (Directorate of Marine Resources). It as well controls the collection of seed from the wild. Aquaculture laws and regulations in Bahrain are constantly revised and up-dated in conformity with international standards and requirements.

The government's strategy is designed to guide the sustainable increase and management of Bahrain's aquatic resources for the production of high quality fish and seafood, as well for the generation of wealth and employment for the local people. Amount strategy initiatives are being designed to promote sustainable improvment-"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of next generations to meet their own needs."
Recognising the importance of environment, the Directorate of Marine Resources is committed to eco-friendly and environmentally sound aquaculture development.

Applied research, education and training

The National Mariculture Centre under the jurisdiction of the Directorate of Marine resources is the government body that conducts applied and scientific research in the field of aquaculture. Its major objectives are:

  • To create the scientific and technical base for the development of mariculture operations in Bahrain.
  • To conduct appropriate scientific research projects and developmental programmes on the mariculture of living marine resources.
  • To develop suitable culture systems for the environmental conditions found in Bahrain.
  • To assist and encourage private sector investment in commercial fish farming and similar activities in the country.
  • To mass produce seed of suitable and commercially significant species for the fish farming sector.
  • To produce market size fish in suitable culture systems for the local and international markets.
  • To train national staff in aquaculture technology.
  • To assist stock enhancement programmes through the mass production of seeds, fry and fingerlings to protect the local endangered marine resources from extinction.

The Biology Department of the University of Bahrain as well conduct related academic oriented research in this field. Currently, only private company has a technical cooperation agreement with the Directorate of Marine Resources aimed at developing mariculture activities.

The University of Bahrain offers a BSc. degree course in marine science within the Biological Sciences Department.

Trends, issues and development

In the last years, a number of private investors have shown critical interest in establishing fish farms. The Directorate of Marine Resources is conducting site surveys to determine and allocate suitable locations for these farms, on land and offshore. This will be an significant step in formulating a master plan for the development of the aquaculture sector that will ensure controlled and sustainable development. The National Mariculture Center has to be developed and equipped to give the necessary technical support for the upcoming industry.

This master plan will contain different sections relating to issues such as legislation and the integration of the approval process, environmental monitoring, fish disease control, sustainable management and development. This master plan will as well include the nature of involvement of the different government authorities inclunding the private sector in the management process of this sector.

Additional research in different fields of aquaculture is needed for improved next management of this growing sector. The major areas of research that could be focused on in next are:

  • Identification of the majority suitable local and exotic species for culture.
  • Environment monitoring programmes.
  • Fish health and disease control.
  • Enhancement of the legal and administrative framework.

References

 

 

Bibliography
FAO publications related to aquaculture for Bahrain.
Abdulredha J. Shams 2009. National Aquaculture Sector Review for the Kingdom of Bahrain. Directorate of Marine Resources, General Directorate for the Protection of Marine Resources, Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment & wildlife. Kingdom of Bahrain, pp. 9
Al Radhi, Abdulkarim, Nasser Al-Saffar, Fareed Mirza, Ahmed Al Radhi, Abbas Abdulla, S. Saleh Ahmed, Nadia Hermis. 2006. Fisheries Resources in the Kingdom of Bahrain for the year 2004 - General Directorate for the Protection of Marine Resources, Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife. Technical Circular No.93, pp.96.
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