In the Arab Emirates will begin to grow salmon in the desert

Salmon meat grown on a farm in the Dubai desert will appear in local stores in April 2019.

Starting from April 2019, salmon grown on a local fish farm will appear in restaurants and supermarkets of the United Arab Emirates.

A year and a half ago, the Dubai fish farm, built on the territory of the Jebel Ali free economic zone, received more than 40 thousand salmon fry from natural incubators in Scotland and thousands of eggs from Iceland.

"We raised salmon in the desert, it's incredible," says Bader bin Mubarak, Executive Director of the salmon farm, in his office in Jebel Ali. "No company in the world has ever tried this type of land-based salmon farming in a hot climate," says Mubarak, who is also the Executive Director of the Dubai Ship Building, a partner of Mubarak Marine and Deputy Chairman of the Dubai marine industry Council.

According to Nigel Lewis, technical Director of Fish Farm and specialist in aquaculture and diversification of marine species, the delivery of salmon from Scotland to Dubai was the most difficult task. In November 2017, 40 thousand salmon fry, each smaller than a little finger, were placed in special tanks with oxygen-rich water, and seven hours drove by truck to the nearest airport, where they were taken to a larger airport, and then to Dubai.

Today, all salmon sold in supermarkets and restaurants in the UAE are imported from abroad,and in General, only about 8% of all fish sold in the UAE are produced in local waters. Salmon is the second largest fish consumed in the UAE after sea bass, which is found in the waters of the Persian Gulf, which once again proves the validity of salmon breeding in artificially created conditions.

After signing an agreement with the Spinneys retail chain and Dubai restaurants in April 2019, the salmon farm is projected to grow and supply a total of 10 to 15 tons of salmon per month.