Blue Waters LLC Oman, which produces sea bream (Sparus aurata) in the Gulf of Oman, has achieved Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification.
The farm, which consists of circular cages off the coast of Qurayyat about 100 kilometrres south of Muscat, is Oman’s first facility to attain BAP certification, according to the Global Seafood Alliance.
The farm has been in operation since 2016 and is expected to produce 2350 tonnes of sea bream this year. Fingerlings are imported live from hatcheries in Europe. Blue Waters is in the process of building its own hatchery in Oman, which is scheduled to open in late 2022. The sea bream is currently sold as chilled whole fish to retail customers in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.
Blue Waters was audited against the BAP Farm Standard Issue 3.0 and received its BAP certificate on 15th March. Established in 2016, Blue Water LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fisheries Development Oman (FDO). FDO was formed by Oman Investment Authority (OIA), Oman’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries Wealth (MAFW).
‘Achieving the BAP certification is a major achievement, which documents that Blue Waters is an internationally recognised producer of high quality sustainable farmed fish,’ said Nabeel AlRuwaidhi, CEO of Blue Waters.
This brings the total number of BAP-certified facilities in the Middle East to four currently. The three other facilities are in Saudi Arabia and include a tilapia farm and hatchery operated by Rasheed Al Ballaa and a feed mill operated by Maram Feed Mill Co.
‘Achieving BAP certification has been a goal of Blue Waters and also our valuable customers. We make every effort to go the extra mile for our customers. When something is important to them, we listen and act. It is important for us as a company to understand the demands of an evolving market and stay on top of innovative developments in our industry,’ said Waleed Al Farsi, sales manager for Blue Waters.
‘It is our mission to support a profitable, sustainable and socially responsible seafood industry, and this is a shining example of how industry and science can work together for a profoundly positive outcome,’ added Lars Bo Windmar, quality and safety manager for Blue Waters.
