Operated by Aqua Bridge, the hatchery located in Al-Lith, in the Kingdom’s Makkah Province has a production target of 10 million juveniles for the year 2020, of which 5 million have already been produced and delivered to local farms, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company, which is owned by Sheikh Ahmad Bin Manna Al-Maktoum led by Mohammad Tabish, has hailed the achievement as an important step in fulfilling the Saudi Government's aim to produce 600,000 tonnes of seafood a year by 2030.
The hatchery is developing under the guidance of its technical director, Panagiotis Tountas, who successfully introduced the European sea bream and European seabass to the Arabian Gulf region in 1999. The Aqua Bridge hatchery is also the first BAP-certified marine finfish hatchery in the GCC.
