52 DECEMBER 2022 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG Red Sea coast in the west and the Arabian Sea in the east. The Saudi fisheries authority was expected to expand mariculture primarily in the Red Sea from 2010 (Cardia et al. 2017, Young and Shaikhi 2022). However, most potential locations were located near residential or industrial areas and hence unsuitable for a cage farming project. (Salama et al. 2016). The Saudi fisheries authority established the National Fisheries Development Program (NFDP) to evaluate ideal cage sites in 2018 (Fig. 1). There are seven major mariculture companies in Saudi Arabia. Because of economic development, cultural technology support and environmental factors, the fisheries authority selected those major aquaculture companies as candidates for potential marine cage farming (Fig. 2). Moreover, Saudi Arabian aquaculture is dominated by one large company, the National Aquaculture Group (NAQUA), and several emerging companies, such as Tabuk Fisheries, Tharawat Seas and Saudi Fisheries. Fish species selection. There was 99,906 t of aquaculture production in Saudi Arabia in 2020. Mariculture (including marine shrimp and finfish) was 77,264 t, which was an increase from the previously recorded 67,833 t in 2018. Pacific white shrimp farming accounted for >70 per cent of the total mariculture production in the 2010s. In contrast, Pacific white shrimp farming accounted for ~47 per cent in 2020. Because of technology support and environmental factors, Asian seabass, gilthead seabream, Sabaki tilapia, and snubnose pompano farming have risen in Saudi Arabia since 2010 (Young et al. 2021ab, Dickson 2022). Notably, the Asian sea bass, gilthead seabream and Sabaki tilapia industry in Saudi Arabia remains popular with local consumers and is supported by artificial propagation in local hatcheries. In contrast, the source of fingerlings of sobaity seabream and European seabass are imports from Bahrain, Turkey, and European countries (Young et al. 2021b). Therefore, related to local hatchery production of seed, the primary fish species for cage farming were selected from Asian seabass, gilthead seabream, Sabaki tilapia and snubnose pompano in the first phase. For cage culture operations in Saudi Arabia, the fish are generally stocked from juveniles with an initial size of approximately 1-2 g and are then grown for 13-14 months to market size (400 g). Current issues. Although finfish mariculture is becoming more important in overall aquaculture production in Saudi Arabia, local aquaculture industries have confronted several issues. Earlier, Owing to the national agricultural development strategy, market demand and environmental factors, Indian prawn Fenneropenaeus indicus and Pacific white shrimp Penaeus vannamei farming has been thriving in the Saudi Arabia since the 1980s. However, with the rise of the white spot syndrome virus in 2010, the profitability of the Saudi shrimp industry decreased. Fish culture is becoming essential for aquaculture in terms of economic development and food security in the country. Moreover, because of policies related to limiting factors and the natural environment, mariculture of marine finfish is more suitable than freshwater fish (Young et al. 2021a, Young and AlMoutiri 2022). Therefore, the Saudi Arabian fisheries authority (Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture) has been promoting coastal cage culture and mariculture to support national policies related to sustainable development and food security (Saunders et al. 2016, Dickson 2022). The current major mariculture species in Saudi mariculture are Asian seabass Lates calcarifer, gilthead bream Sparus aurata and Sabaki tilapia Oreochromis spilurus (FAO 2022). Although fish farming has developed significantly in Saudi Arabia since 2010, coastal cage culture is still not the main production system (Dickson 2022, Young and Shaikhi 2022). Therefore, the Saudi fisheries authority promotes marine cage farming for aquaculture development (Salama et al. 2016, Cardia et al. 2017). Because of market demand and environmental factors, the national fisheries authority selected Asian seabass, Sabaki tilapia, gilthead seabream, snubnose pompano Trachinotus blochii, sobaity seabream Sparidentex hasta, and European seabass Dicentrarchus labrax as target species for cage aquaculture development projects, although commercial cage culture of these species has not yet been developed in Saudi Arabia (Tesfamichael and Saeed 2016, Young et al. 2021b). Recently, several target species have successfully reached commercial scale in Saudi Arabia (Young and Alfaggeh 2021, Dickson 2022). Additionally, the project has been evaluating potential locations of sea cages to increase production in the future. Status of Marine Cage Aquaculture Site selection. Saudi Arabia has high potential for aquaculture sector development, and the fisheries authority has identified mariculture for an intense focus and has proposed developing it in all coastal and interior areas since 2010 (Al-Hafedh et al. 2012, BaAkdah et al. 2020). Moreover, Saudi Arabia has two coastlines, the Current Status of Marine Cage Culture in Saudi Arabia Benjamin C. Young, Ibrahiem Salih Alzahrani and Ali Al Shaikhi FIGURE 1. The logo of the National Fisheries Development Program (NFDP).
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