الاستزراع السمكي في السعودية
Saudi Aquaculture
Human resources:
In 2003, the employment in the aquaculture sector reached 3 407 full time jobs (Fisheries Statistics, 2006). This figure is expected to increase because of the increasing number of farms in the past 2-3 years. Many of these workers, especially those working in the farm sites are unskilled workers doing routine maintenance labour. A few highly-skilled people are in-charge of the operation of the farms. Most of the skilled workers employed in the industry are non-Saudi nationals. It should be noted, that at present, no women are part of the working force in the industry.
Farming system distribution and characteristics :
Freshwater sources are limited in Saudi Arabia and the main source of water is underground water, which is used both for aquaculture and agriculture. Therefore, freshwater farms are distributed all around the country where source of water is accessible. The only way to establish a freshwater fish farm is to set up a traditional crop farm with the effluent water being used to irrigate crops. Consequently, fish farming and agricultural activities are joint activities. This system is beneficial for both fish health and agricultural production.
Brackish and marine aquaculture is mainly undertaken in huge shrimp farms using ponds and raceways located along the Red Sea cost.
Cultured species:
Many species of freshwater, marine fish, shrimps, shellfish and ornamental fish are suitable for aquaculture activities. These species include:
Shrimps : Mainly the white shrimp, P. indicus, constitute the bulk of the aquaculture production in the country, comprising of about 78 percent of the total aquaculture production in 2004 (Fisheries Statistics, 2008). This species is present in the waters around Saudi Arabia and is tolerant to high water salinity. Because of its capability to breed and grow well in high saline waters, this species was found to be the best shrimp species suitable for aquaculture in the country. There were early attempts to culture P. monodon and P. semisulcatus, but failed due to water salinity issues.
Other species : Other species of fish that have consistently registered an annual production for the last 5-10 years are North Africa catfish (Clarias gariepinus), rabbitfish or siganids (Siganus rivulatus) and flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus). The production of these species, however, is still very low.
Practices/systems of culture
Several fish farming systems are currently used for fish and shrimp production. These systems vary depending on technical, operating and productive capacity. The systems used are extensive, semi-extensive, cage culture and pen culture.
Tilapia farms employ the semi-intensive culture system. Most of the farms produced their own fry and fingerlings for stocking in grow-out ponds or tanks. The main source of water is from a well. Water is changed once a week and waste pond water is recycled after staying for some time in a settling pond. During the exchange of water, 50 percent of new well water and another of recycled water is introduced. Artificial feeds from commercial feed companies are used and some farmers produced their own feeds. Similarly for shrimp culture, the semi-intensive method is largely used. The size of the culture ponds is large, ranging from 1 hectare to 10 hectares per compartment.
Stocking density in grow-out ponds ranges from 15-25 pcs/m3. Approximately, 15-20 percent of water is changed daily
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