With the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf teeming with fish, and the world increasingly appreciating the variety and health benefits of seafood, aquaculture’s potential for Saudi Arabia is clear. Limited infrastructure and local skills availability as well as a local market driven by price rather than quality make significant progress a real challenge, but plans by the Ministry of Environment Water and Agriculture to invest 30bn SAR in the sector over the next 15 years look set to transform the industry. 

The objective: import-substitution, major increases in exports and, overall, a seven-fold increase in aquaculture’s contribution to GDP.