Saudi fishing industry bolstered by support plan

Pexels/Arturas Kokorevas

• Aim to increase production by 7%
• No financial details revealed
• Trips must be six hours-plus

Saudi Arabia’s fishing industry has landed a financial support programme from the government as part of plans to develop and safeguard the sector.

Fish production in the kingdom increased 80 percent in 2023 year on year to 214,600 metric tonnes.

The goal is to increase that by 7 percent to 230,000 tonnes this year.

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The latest support scheme will be overseen by Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, minister of environment, water and agriculture, through the state-run Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Programme, more commonly known as Reef Saudi.

Although no financial details of the programme were revealed, the move will help “stimulate the industry”, a statement said.

The Reef Saudi programme aims to improve the rural agricultural sector in the kingdom by raising the living standards of small-scale farmers and fishermen and enhancing their lifestyles, as well as increasing efficiency and productivity.

In recent years Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has introduced initiatives to help the fisheries sector.

This includes launching a national programme to protect fish stocks and the industry in general, providing concessional loans for fishermen to assist with the purchase of boats, and modernising the ports in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.

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In 2021, the ministry brought in regulations to prevent overfishing.

In March this year Saudi Arabia and the UAE were the only GCC countries to back a failed bid by the World Trade Organisation to curb subsidies that contribute to overfishing and wider fishing sector overcapacity.

Fishermen looking for support through the programme must have a fishing licence, in either the Saudi artisan or Saudi sailor category. They cannot be employed in the public sector and must be based in the kingdom and be older than 18. Furthermore, each fishing trip must not be less than six hours.

Saudi Arabia has just completed its two-year presidency of the 36th session of the Committee on Fisheries of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, where it was commended for efforts to enhance the sector’s sustainability.