Reconstruction of Marine Fisheries Catches for Oman ( 1950 - 2010 )

Total marine fisheries catches by Oman were estimated from 1950 to 2010, including large-scale and smallscale commercial catches, subsistence, and recreational catches, as well as major discards. Reconstructed total catches increased from around 53,600 t∙year-1 in the 1950s to almost 200,000 t·year-1 in the 2000s. This estimated catch is 1.3 times the landings reported by the FAO on behalf of Oman. The reconstruction of catches of the governorate of Musandam, i.e., in the north of Oman, was presented separately because of its geographical separation from the rest of the country. Estimates of subsistence catches were obtained by applying a per capita subsistence catch rate to the rural coastal population of Oman. Recreational catches were estimated based on the recreational fishing participation rate of Oman estimated by CisnerosMontemayor and Sumaila (2010). The unreported commercial catches in this reconstruction refer only to spiny lobster (Panulirus homarus). Fisheries management in Oman seems to be well developed and the government is investing a lot of resources and effort to improve the status of fisheries, which is justified by the fact that the fishery sector represents the second most important economic sector for the country after oil. INTRODUCTION The Sultanate of Oman, whose capital city is Muscat, is an Arab country situated in the south east of the Arabian Peninsula, with an area of around 300,000 km2. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, Yemen in the south, with the Arabian Sea to the southeast and the Gulf of Oman to the northeast (Figure 1). Oman is divided into 11 governorates. Musandam is one of these governorates, an exclave of Oman that is surrounded by the United Arab Emirates. This governorate has itself an exclave in the UAE, called Madha (75 km2), which amazingly contains an ever smaller exclave of the UAE called Nahwah. Musandam is jutting into the Strait of Hormuz at the end of the Persian Gulf (Figure 2). Oman has generally a very hot and dry climate with little or no rainfall except in the Dhofar region (AlMashakhi and Koll 2007) and is mostly covered by desert and mountains isolating the country from the rest of the region (Metz 1993). The Omani population is estimated to be around 3.9 million in 2014 (www.worldbank.org), composed of mainly Arabs but also Indians, Pakistani and several African groups (www.populstat.info). An important group within the current Omani population is formed by non-Omani Citizens who are mainly migrant workers (Lavergne and Dumortier 2002). Until the 8th century, i.e., the conversion of Oman to Islam, Omani territories were mainly under the rule of the Persian Empire (Sykes 1915). Then, the Portuguese colonized the country, until the mid-15th century. However, during this period some Omani cities were taken from the Portuguese (Risso 1986). By the mid16th century, the Persians invaded Oman but were driven away by the Yemeni (Sykes 1915). During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Omani empire colonized Zanzibar, now part of Tanzania, and Mombasa, one of the