Fisheries experts deliver training programme

Muscat: The Industrial Innovation Centre (IIC) conducted an intensive workshop-based training programme on the latest trends, techniques, and best practice in fish and seafood processing and preservation at the National Business Center.
The training was designed to promote a culture of innovation in the fisheries industry as well as help Oman’s entrepreneurs and SMEs optimise outcomes as they capitalise on the opportunities identified by the IIC Fisheries Innovation Programme with the development of innovative new products that meet the domestic needs and enhance the Sultanate’s export portfolio. Through programmes such as this, IIC supports innovators as they achieve their ambitions, generate wealth, contribute to GDP and create quality sustainable job opportunities.
Covering topics including freezing and salting, the latest manufacturing processes, process design and implementation in the plant, and transformation in the seafood and fisheries sector, the highly practical workshops were delivered by experts in innovation from Oman and Malaysia. Sessions were attended by representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries, Al Khaboura Vocational College of Marine Sciences, fisheries and food science graduates, entrepreneurs as well as members of the Coastal Ladies Project.
Thanking everyone who contributed to the success of the impactful training programme, IIC Programme Director Dr Bashair Al Riyami said: “Informative, relevant and solutions are driven, the sessions were enthusiastically received. Indeed, feedback showed just how useful our fish and seafood innovators found this training and how motivated and inspired they were by its contents. I now very much look forward to seeing how this new knowledge is applied, the further innovation that is spurred, the process and product breakthroughs that are generated and the value that is added.”
Part of the IIC Sector Innovation Programme, the IIC Fisheries Innovation Programme was launched in February 2018. Since then it has scouted for new products and technologies in the sector and worked on product improvement and process optimization. In the first year alone 103 unique opportunities were identified in traditional fish products, pet food, animal feed and fish feed along with factory water-saving technology and enhancements to products, branding and packaging. Of these, 25 were selected for action with entrepreneurs and three-year innovation plans were put into action in collaboration with stakeholders from the IIC Innovation Ecosystem.
A priority sector of Oman’s economic diversification strategy, the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries is aiming to raise the contribution of fisheries to GDP five-fold by 2023 - taking it to US$3.3bn, up from US$582mn in 2016. The sector is also expected to generate around 8,600 new jobs by 2023, generating 80 per cent of its investments from the private sector. Oman boasts one of the highest seafood consumption rates in the world – over 28.6kg per capita each year.