Oman launches seven-month shrimping season

More than 1,000 boats laden with Omani fishermen clad in traditional wizra wrapped around their waist set sail from the Gulf country’s shorelines this week to usher in the start of a seven-month shrimping season.

With the upper part of their naked dark body exposed to the scorching sun, the turbaned fishermen chanted folklore songs to the sounds of drums and the waving of their families bidding them farewell at the outset of the long voyage.

The event, reported by Oman’s media on Thursday, is reminiscent of those long old pearling trips before the discovery of oil, when Oman and neighbouring Gulf countries lived on fishing and pearling. Most of them still organise such trips with the aim of reviving old heritage and culture after such a practice came to a standstill as a source of living following the advent of the oil era and the discovery of man-mane pearls by Japan.

The shrimping season, one of the most popular events in Oman’s heritage, had in the past been set at July 1 before it was moved to September 1 and extended a couple of months until the end of March.

“Shrimp fishing season in Oman is certainly an exciting and special sight to behold. With more than 1,000 fishing vessels gathering within close proximity of each other, remaining close to shore at all times, the event is more like a celebration than work,” one Omani newspaper said.

“Dolphins sometimes are seen playfully jumping between the boats, creating a truly unique and amusing experience, restricted to the season extending from September to March, with October being the peak.”

Newspapers said the setting for this spectacle can be seen in several locations, the most prominent of which is a small island surrounded by thick mangrove vegetation in the Wilayat of Muhut. In addition to that spot, shrimp fishing is also practiced in the coastal village of Khalloof, not far from Muhut and the Wilayat of Duqm; some 200 Kilometres from Muhut. All fishing is performed along shallow shores at depths ranging from 20 and 50 metres.

“The Directorate of Fisheries in Al Wusta (central) region has completed all technical and administrative guidance as well as awareness and monitoring preparations for this significant season,” Oman Times said.

“Shrimp is one of the marine species for which the demand is high. It is available in the central region in the Sultanate and is marketed in local markets….part of the production is exported to foreign markets.”

It said the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Spain, the US and other east Asian countries are among the major importers of Omani shrimps.

“The Fisheries Ministry is conducting scientific studies and research in a bid to increase its production as shrimps play an important role in cleaning the marine environment and maintaining the ecosystem,” the paper said.

Oman is the third largest Arab fish producer after Mauritanian and Morocco, with its fish production exceeding 130,000 tonnes in 2009.

Fishing in that country, an oil and gas exporter, is conducted in the Gulf of Oman, which controls the strategic Hormuz Straits, the Gulf’s only outlet through which more than a fifth of the world’s oil exports pass every day.

Shrimping in Oman is permitted only during this season and those caught hunting for shrimp outside the season are punished and their catch is impounded.

Last month, Omani newspapers reported that authorities seized more than two tonnes of shrimps as they were being smuggled to the UAE.

Omani police and inspectors from the Ministry of Fisheries seized a fish van specially prepared for smuggling the 2.52 tonnes of shrimps near the new Alwajaja entry point at the Oman-UAE border, the papers said.

“We are exerting efforts to ensure the success of this shrimping season,” said Nassir Al Kayoumi, head of the licensing section at the Omani Ministry of Fisheries. “We are also taking measures to ensure that the fishermen will not violate rules set by the Ministry regarding fishing practices with the aim of preserving the marine wealth and protecting the ecological balance.”

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