The Sheikh Khalifa Marine Research Centre has delivered 600,000 fish fingerlings to a number of aquaculture companies in the United Arab Emirate (UAE), including Emirates National Fish Farming Company, as part of the country’s efforts to develop the sector as a means to support the nation’s food security plans.
The shipment is the first following the full renovation process the centre had undertaken to enhance its hatchery, with the initial batch comprising European seabream, of which a number will be raised in the aquaculture companies’ cages.
Fish Farm LLC -the company in charge of the management, operation, and maintenance of Sheikh Khalifa Marine Research Centre- is working to enhance operations to reach full operational capacity in one month, in time to support the upcoming fish farming season. The company has set a comprehensive plan to produce more than 7 million fish fingerlings of various species, including seabream, hammour, seabass and cobia, among others.
Maryam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, said: “The development of fisheries and aquaculture is a top priority for the UAE. It is a key component in our plans to enhance our food security and increase our annual food production.
The Sheikh Khalifa Marine Research Centre’s hatchery is an important instrument in achieving these objectives; the facility boasts an enormous capacity to produce nearly 30 million fish fingerlings per year in two stages. This demonstrates the hatchery’s great ability to supply aquaculture farms around the country with top-quality fingerlings in preparation for their breeding and entry to the market within a short period.”
“We are delighted to be delivering the first shipment of fingerlings from the complete renovated and developed hatchery to a number of aquaculture companies in the UAE , including Emirates National Fish Farming Company”, he added.
“Work is ongoing to develop the hatchery and employ advanced technologies to enhance its productivity in the future, and increasingly grow our production capacity, while adhering to the highest sustainability standards. Preserving our resources from waste and protecting our marine environment are a non-negotiable commitment for us.”
In April 2021, Almheiri signed an agreement with Fish Farms LLC, represented by its CEO Bader bin Mubarak, to operate and maintain the Sheikh Khalifa Marine Research Centre’s hatchery in Umm Al-Quwain in accordance with the highest international standards. The MoU aims to boost the hatchery’s productivity and upgrade the quality of the fish fingerlings it produces to be supplied to aquaculture farms around the country -a central component of the UAE’s food security system.
The United Arab Emirates established Sheikh Khalifa Marine Research Center, which will house 14 specialized laboratories divided in 5 clusters (Generator Room, Pump Station, Plant room, Broodstock, Hatchery, Offices, Weaning, Nursery and Surrounding Area), to be operated in partnership with interested regional and international partners. The UAE welcomes regional and international businesses, entrepreneurs, and research institutions to partner to conduct cutting edge research at the research center. The Research Center was built in Umm AL-Quwain by the Ministry of Public Works of the UAE.
“The objective of the Marine Hatchery Complex is to produce 10 million juveniles per year of a variety of local and non-indigenous fish species to allow the indigenous sustainable development of Aquaculture.“
The country is one of the pioneers in aquaculture among the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (the GCC, founded in 1981 with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Sultanate of Oman). The UAE is endowed with many natural lagoons, bays, and creeks, most of which are encircled by mangrove swamps providing ideal spawning and nursery grounds for a wide variety of fish and shrimp species.
