The Ministry of Municipality and Environment’s (MME) aquaculture department is planning to license six projects to meet its fish production gap of 6,000 tonnes per year, it is learnt.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ‘French Technologies in Agriculture’ seminar in Doha yesterday, MME’s aquaculture department head Mohamed al-Abdulla said Qatar’s current fish requirement reaches 46,000 tonnes annually while current production stands at 40,000 tonnes.
“I want to meet this (6,000 tonnes) target this year but we do have a procedure (to follow) and we want to take it one step at a time,” al-Abdulla said, adding that they are also working on an experiment to grow fresh water fishes such as tilapia.
Currently, he said, Qatar is producing 1,000 tonnes of fresh water fish annually and hopes to increase production in the near future with the use of modern technology to meet the growing demand.
MME has already licensed one company and it is set to license two more either this year or next year, according to al-Abdulla. 
Such move, he said, forms part of the ministry’s efforts to attain self-sufficiency in aquaculture production.
In his presentation at the seminar, al-Abdulla cited the completion of the QR237.7mn Aquatic Fisheries and Research Centre in Ras Matbakh, which is estimated to operate in April.
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