Sustainable Development in Oman Fisheries Industry: Status and Potential of Fishing Companies

Abstract

Our study examines the condition of sustainable development in Omani fisheries industry, with specific focus on the extent to which the fishing companies practice sustainable fishing that meets the objective of food security. We also detect, characterize, and analyze the compliance of the fishing companies with the principles of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Using 55 completed questionnaires of 70 surveyed operating fishing companies, a multivariate general linear model was used to determine the impact of economic and environmental factors on achieving sustainability, and domestic demand of fisheries sector in Oman. Our results revealed that more than 63% of companies believed that sustainability is extremely important in the fisheries industry, and around 42% of the companies 'strongly agree' that Oman meets its domestic demand from its own harvest. The model displayed significant effects of the amount of production for local consumption, climate change adaptation, and water waste management on improving sustainability of the fisheries sector. Analysis also confirmed significant effects on the amount of production for local consumption, amount of production for export, and using technology to locate stock on enabling the country to meet its domestic demand through its own harvest. We conclude by arguing that our findings have important implications for managing production in terms of food security and safeguarding domestic consumption.