Aquaculture!development!

151 Pages·2015·2.58 MB·English

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Aquaculture!development!
in!the!Sultanate!of!Oman!
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! By!Tom!Prins!
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Master!Thesis!Business!Geography!
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Author:!! ! ! ! ! Tom!Prins!
Student!number:! ! ! ! 3379329!
Email:! ! ! ! ! ! [email protected]!!!
Date:!! ! ! ! ! ! June!17th!2015!!
University:!! ! ! ! ! Utrecht!University,!the!Netherlands!
Master!degree:!! ! ! ! Business!Geography!
Faculty:! ! ! ! ! Geosciences!
Address:! ! ! ! ! Heidelberglaan!2!
3584!CS!Utrecht,!the!Netherlands!
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Supervisor!Utrecht!University:! ! Dr.!L.M.J.!van!Grunsven!
Email:! ! ! ! ! ! [email protected]!
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Supervisor!Netherlands!Embassy,!Muscat:! Ms.!Angélique!Eijpe!
Email:!!! ! ! ! ! [email protected]!
Towards(a(blue(revolution(in(a(hydrocarbon(society?( 1!
Acknowledgements!!
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Dear!reader,!
!
In!front!of!you!is!my!master!thesis!on!the!development!of!the!aquaculture!industry!in!the!
Sultanate!of!Oman.!All!the!people!who!I’ve!met!and!worked!with!along!the!course!of!this!
research! have! been! extremely! helpful.! I! am! sincerely! grateful! for! all! of! their! individual!
contributions!–!being!it!for!participating!in!this!research,!to!reviewing!my!concept!versions!or!
having!great!conversations!during!the!many!coffee!breaks!at!the!university!library.!Without!all!
of!these!people!both!in!Oman!and!in!the!Netherlands!this!research!would!have!not!been!
possible.!!
!
I!would!like!to!thank!all!of!my!colleagues!at!the!Netherlands!Embassy!in!Muscat.!In!particular!
Angelique!Eijpe,!for!offering!me!a!job!at!the!economic!department!of!the!Netherlands!Embassy!
in!Muscat,!but!also!for!giving!me!the!freedom!to!conduct!my!research.!Your!knowledge!of!the!
Arab!region!and!the!economy!of!Oman!in!particular!have!been!of!great!help!and!have!been!a!
major!source!of!both!information!and!inspiration.!Also!a!big!thanks!to!Hans!van!der!Beek!at!the!
Netherlands!Agriculture!Attaché!in!Riyadh,!Saudi!Arabia.!Getting!the!opportunity!to!extend!my!
stay!in!Oman!with!another!3!months!has!been!crucial!for!the!final!product!and!for!sourcing!all!
the!data!I!needed.!It!has!been!a!great!and!informative!experience!to!work!with!both!of!you!
Angelique!and!Hans.!!
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I!would!also!like!to!especially!thank!my!supervisor!at!the!Utrecht!University,!Leo!van!Grunsven.!
Providing!me!with!constructive!criticism!all!along!the!way!during!the!hours!of!discussions!we’ve!
had!have!made!me!push!this!research!and!make!the!most!of!it.!!
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Then!at!last!I!would!like!to!dedicate!this!research!to!Hesham!Lofty.!His!death!in!May!2015!came!
unexpected!and!is!an!incredible!loss!for!the!people!around!him,!but!also!for!the!development!of!
aquaculture!activities!in!Oman.!I!won’t!forget!the!several!moments!we!sat!down!at!a!local!Costa!
Coffee!in!Muscat!and!Hesham!would!answer!all!my!questions!in!complete!honesty!and!with!
great!energy.!Hesham’s!unrivalled!passion!for!developing!sustainable!aquaculture!activities!
made!him!(using!his!own!words)!a!real!champion,!which!will!definitely!be!missed!deeply.!!
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Utrecht,!the!Netherlands!
June!2015
Towards(a(blue(revolution(in(a(hydrocarbon(society?( 2!
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Contents
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SUMMARY! 6!
1.!INTRODUCTION! 10!
1.1!ECONOMIC!DIVERSIFICATION! 10!
1.2!A!NEW!GROWTH!PATH:!THE!AQUACULTURE!INDUSTRY! 11!
1.3!RESEARCH!QUESTIONS! 12!
1.3!RELEVANCE! 12!
1.3.1!SCIENTIFIC!RELEVANCE! 12!
1.3.2!SOCIETAL!RELEVANCE! 13!
2.!LITERATURE!REVIEW! 15!
2.1!PATH!CREATION!&!PATH!DEVELOPMENT! 15!
2.1.1!PATH!CREATION:!ENDOGENOUS!AND!EXOGENOUS!GROWTH!THEORY! 15!
2.1.2!THE!ORIGIN!OF!GROWTH!PATHS! 16!
2.1.3!PATH!DEVELOPMENT! 19!
2.1.4!PATH!CREATION!TO!ENHANCE!REGIONAL!RESILIENCE! 21!
2.2!REGIONAL!ABSORPTIVE!CAPACITY!&!INNOVATION! 21!
2.2.1!LOCAL!INNOVATION!SYSTEMS!(LIS)! 22!
2.2.2!REGIONAL!ABSORPTIVE!CAPACITY!&!KNOWLEDGE!COMPLEMENTARITY! 24!
2.2.3!TECHNOLOGICAL!LEAPFROGGING! 25!
2.3!A!HUMAN!AGENCY!PERSPECTIVE!ON!GROWTH!PATH!DEVELOPMENT! 27!
2.3.1!FORMAL!&!INFORMAL!INSTITUTIONS! 27!
2.3.2!THE!ROLE!OF!THE!STATE!IN!DEVELOPING!NEW!GROWTH!PATHS! 27!
2.3.3!THE!ROLE!OF!FIRMS!IN!DEVELOPING!NEW!GROWTH!PATHS! 29!
2.4!PATH!CREATION!&!DEVELOPMENT!IN!PERSPECTIVE;!GCC!ECONOMIES! 29!
2.4.1!RENT!SEEKING!BEHAVIOUR!&!POLITICAL!LOCK!INS! 30!
2.4.2!REGIONAL!LEARNING!&!KNOWLEDGE!TRANSFERS! 31!
2.4.3!PRIVATE!SECTOR!ACTIVITY!&!GOVERNANCE! 32!
2.5!CONCEPTUAL!FRAMEWORK!&!HYPOTHESES! 34!
2.5.1!HYPOTHESES!SUB!QUESTIONS! 34!
3.!METHODOLOGY! 38!
3.1!INTERVIEWS!–!KEY!INFORMANTS! 38!
3.2!QUALITATIVE!DATA! 40!
3.3!OPERATIONALIZATION!&!MEASUREMENT! 41!
3.4!VALIDITY,!RELIABILITY!&!REFLEXIVITY! 45!
3.4.1!VALIDITY!&!RELIABILITY! 45!
3.4.2!REFLEXIVITY! 45!
3.5!DATA!ANALYSIS! 46!
3.5.1!CONTENT!ANALYSIS! 46!
3.5.2!NVIVO!ANALYSING!SOFTWARE! 47!
4.!AN!ECONOMIC!REVIEW!OF!THE!SULTANATE!OF!OMAN! 49!
4.1!DOMINANCE!OF!THE!HYDROCARBON!SECTOR! 49!
4.2!CAPTURE!FISHERIES!IN!OMAN! 52!
4.3!DOING!BUSINESS!IN!OMAN! 55!
4.3.1!DOING!BUSINESS!INDEX! 55!
4.3.2!ECONOMIC!FREEDOM!–!LEGAL!STRUCTURE! 56!
4.4!LABOUR!MARKET! 56!
4.4.1!LABOUR!PRODUCTIVITY! 56!
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4.4.2!GOVERNMENT!POLICY! 58!
4.5!INNOVATION!&!R&D! 60!
5.!EVOLUTION!OF!THE!AQUACULTURE!INDUSTRY!IN!OMAN! 63!
5.1!AQUACULTURE!IN!OMAN! 63!
5.1.1!AN!INTRODUCTION!TO!AQUACULTURE! 63!
5.1.2!DEVELOPMENT!OF!AQUACULTURE!IN!OMAN!–!DIVERSIFICATION! 64!
5.1.3!CURRENT!STATUS!OF!THE!AQUACULTURE!INDUSTRY!IN!OMAN! 65!
5.1.4!AQUACULTURE!INVESTMENT!POLICY! 70!
5.2!SOURCES!OF!AQUACULTURE!IN!OMAN! 72!
5.2.1!OMAN’S!HISTORY!WITH!AQUACULTURE! 72!
5.2.2!KNOWLEDGE!TRANSPLANTATION!AS!A!SOURCE!OF!GROWTH! 76!
5.2.3!ANSWERING!THE!1ST!SUBiQUESTION! 82!
6.!ABSORPTIVE!CAPACITY! 84!
6.1!RECOGNIZING!VALUABLE!KNOWLEDGE! 84!
6.1.1!CAPACITY!BUILDING! 84!
6.1.2!BENCHMARKING!&!FOREIGN!EXPERTS! 85!
6.1.3!CONCLUSION! 87!
6.2!ASSIMILATING!&!COMMERCIALIZING!EXTERNAL!KNOWLEDGE!LOCALLY! 87!
6.2.1!COSTS!(PART!1)! 87!
6.2.2!CULTURES!OF!WORK!(PART!1)! 88!
6.2.3!ISOLATED!KNOWLEDGE!AND!COMMERCIALIZATION! 89!
6.2.3!CONCLUSION! 90!
6.3!ANSWERING!THE!2ND!SUBaQUESTION! 90!
7.!LOCALISED!INNOVATION!SYSTEMS! 93!
7.1!PUBLIC!RESEARCH! 93!
7.1.1!THE!AQUACULTURE!CENTRE!AND!THE!MARINE!SCIENCE!AND!FISHERIES!CENTRE! 93!
7.1.2!SQU! 95!
7.1.3!RESEARCH!FUNDING! 96!
7.1.4!CONCLUSION! 98!
7.2!PRIVATE!SECTOR!RESEARCH! 98!
7.2.1!LACK!OF!PRIVATE!SECTOR!ACTIVITIES!&!LACK!OF!R&D! 98!
7.2.2!NO!‘INNOVATION!CULTURE’! 99!
7.2.3!CONCLUSION! 102!
7.3!COLLABORATION!&!ORGANIZATION! 103!
7.3.1!COLLABORATION! 103!
7.3.2!NO!COORDINATION! 104!
7.3.3!CONCLUSION! 105!
7.4!ANSWERING!THE!3RD!SUBaQUESTION! 106!
8.!HUMAN!AGENTS!AND!INSTITUTIONS! 108!
8.1!FORMAL!INSTITUTIONS! 108!
8.1.1!REGULATORY!FRAMEWORK! 108!
8.1.2!THE!LABOUR!MARKET! 111!
8.1.3!TRAINING!&!EDUCATION!SYSTEM! 115!
8.1.4!INVOLVEMENT!OF!THE!MINISTRY!OF!AGRICULTURE!AND!FISHERIES!WEALTH! 117!
8.1.5!CONCLUSION! 119!
8.2!INFORMAL!INSTITUTIONS! 120!
8.2.1!CULTURES!OF!WORK!(PART!2)! 121!
8.2.2!WAYS!OF!DOING!BUSINESS! 123!
8.2.3!CONCLUSION! 127!
Towards(a(blue(revolution(in(a(hydrocarbon(society?( 4!
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8.3!ANSWERING!THE!4TH!SUBaQUESTION! 128!
9.!CONCLUSION!AND!POLICY!RECOMMENDATIONS! 130!
9.1!THE!FILLED!IN!CONCEPTUAL!FRAMEWORK! 130!
9.2!POLICY!RECOMMENDATIONS! 132!
9.3!DISCUSSION! 136!
9.3.1!LIMITATIONS!OF!THE!RESEARCH! 136!
9.3.2!FUTURE!RESEARCH! 137!
10.!REFERENCES! 140!
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APPENDIX!1!a!NVIVO!CODE!TREE! 147!
APPENDIX!2!–!TOPIC!LIST!AQUACULTURE! 149!
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Summary!
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At!the!SouthiEastern!tip!of!the!Arabian!peninsula!the!Sultanate!of!Oman!has!demonstrated!
impressive!economic!growth!rates!over!the!last!few!decades!ever!since!the!discovery!of!oil!in!the!
country.!As!a!result!todays!reality!is!an!economy!that!heavily!depends!on!incomes!derived!from!
hydrocarbons,!accounting!for!86%!of!the!government!revenues!in!2012,!which!is!equal!to!more!
than!51%!of!the!country’s!GDP!(National!Bank!of!Oman,!2013).!Depending!on!the!level!of!
production!however!could!the!5,5!billion!barrels!that!account!for!Oman’s!oil!reserves!already!be!
depleted!by!the!year!2022!(Campbell!&!Heaps,!2008).!Back!in!1995!the!Omani!government!
already!acknowledge!the!limited!availability!of!its!natural!resources!and!hence!the!need!to!
diversify!the!economy!and!create!wealth!beyond!hydrocarbon!revenues.!As!such!it!developed!a!
long!term!development!strategy!named!the!‘Vision(2020(Development(Plan’.!This!development!
plan!was,!and!still!is,!centred!around!three!main!pillars;!diversification(of(the(economy,(human(
resource(development!and!private(sector(development.!In!order!to!diversify!the!economy!and!
create!wealth!beyond!the!availability!of!natural!resources!several!potential!high!growth!sectors!
have!been!appointed!by!the!Omani!government.!Aquaculture!is!one!of!these!sectors!and!hence!is!
the!Ministry!of!Agriculture!and!Fisheries!Wealth!committed!to!get!a!worldiclass!aquaculture!
industry!off!the!ground!in!the!Sultanate.!Considering!the!worldwide!growth!rates!of!aquaculture!
over!the!past!few!decades!as!well!as!the!future!projections!for!the!sector!this!ambition!is!pretty!
much! understandable.! On! the! other! hand,! diversifying! the! economy! by! investing! in! new!
productive!industries!has!proven!to!be!rather!problematic!for!the!Gulf!economies.!Besides!a!few!
exceptions!(like!e.g.!Dubai)!have!efforts!to!develop!knowledge!intensive!industries!not!been!
successful!so!far,!leaving!the!question!on!how!to!transform!sudden!oil!wealth!in!to!a!knowledge!
economy!unanswered!(Ewers!&!Malecki,!2009).!This!research!has!contributed!to!this!pool!of!
knowledge! as! well! as! to! the! knowledge! around! path! creation,! path! development! and!
collaboration!processes!on!the!basis!of!both.!!The!central!research!question!that!has!been!
answered!in!this!research!is!as!follows;!Does(the(current(growth(trajectory(of(aquaculture(in(
Oman(hold(the(potential(to(create(a(viable(new(growth(path(in(the(economy?!By!adapting!a!
qualitative!multiiactor!approach!insights!have!been!generated!in!the!collaboration!processes!
between!different!agents!that!lie!on!the!basis!of!the!growth!path!of!the!aquaculture!industry!in!
Oman.!Inidepth!interviews!with!a!wide!range!of!informants!from!the!public!and!private!sector!in!
combination!with!extensive!desk!research!have!been!used!to!answer!the!above!mentioned!
research!question.!!
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Theory(
From!a!theoretic!point!of!view!industrial!growth!paths!are!explained!by!two!growth!models,!
namely! endogenous! growth! and! exogenous! growth.! Within! the! evolutionary! economic!
geography!the!majority!of!the!work!done!explains!industrial!growth!paths!through!endogenous!
growth,!within!which!the!development!of!new!industries!is!stimulated!and!enabled!by!“preB
existing(resources,(competences,(skills(and(experiences(from(previous(local(paths(and(patterns(of(
economic(development.”!(Dawley!et!al.,!2010,!p.!656,!after!Simmie!&!Martin,!2010,!p.!6),!and!
hence!are!imbedded!in!a!regions’!DNA!(Bristow!&!Healy,!2014).!From!this!perspective!industries!
with!skills!related!to!existing!skills!in!the!region!are!more!likely!to!grow!as!skillirelatedness!
leads!to!regional!labour!matching!and!favours!regional!embedding!of!new!industries!(Boschma,!
2014).!Exogenous!growth!however!is!explained!through!the!transplantation!of!industries,!firms!
or!new!technologies!from!elsewhere!to!create!or!develop!growth!paths!in!the!economy!(Dawley,!
2013).!For!both!endogenous!and!exogenous!growth!the!existing!human!capital!translated!in!the!
absorptive!capacity!of!a!region!plays!a!major!part.!For!endogenous!growth!it’s!the!existing!skills!
and!regional!assets!that!define!the!boundaries!between!which!a!region!can!diversify!its!economy!
by! developing! new! growth! paths! (Boschman,! 2014;! Neffke! et! al,.! 2011).! In! general! the!
absorptive! capacity! of! a! region! is! understood! as! to! comprise! existing! human! capital! in!
combination!with!the!complementarity!between!local!and!external,!or!global!knowledge.!As!
developing!new!industries!in!the!Gulf!countries!mainly!depends!on!the!acquisition!of!knowledge!
and!technologies!from!elsewhere!the!most!relevant!interpretation!of!the!absorptive!capacity!
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here!is!the!capacity!to!recognize!and!understand!valuable!new!knowledge!outside!the!region,!
assimilate!this!knowledge!locally!and!create!new!knowledge!and!commercial!outputs!(Simmie!et!
al.,!2008,!p.16).!Only!through!regional!learning!these!consecutive!processes!can!enhance!a!
region’s!overall!absorptive!capacity.!The!successful!transplantation!of!knowledge!in!order!to!
develop!new!industries!is!highly!depended!on!a!region’s!absorptive!capacity,!therefore!regional!
learning!deserves!major!attention!from!economic!policy!makers.!A!whole!ensemble!of!place!
specific!institutions!is!responsible!for!a!regions!learning!ability!(Ewers,!2013;!Hassink,!2010;!
OECD,!2001).!Hence!in!order!to!learn,!innovate!and!technologically!advance!a!region!or!specific!
industry!this!whole!ensemble!of!institutions!should!be!integrated!in!the!learning!strategy!for!the!
sake! of! economic! development.! One! way! of! doing! this! is! by! addressing! a! so! called! Local!
Innovation!System,!which!is!defined!by!Simmie!et!al.!(2008,!p.!14)!as!“a(functionally(localised(
collection(of(organisations,(institutions(and(processes(that(create(or(adopt(valuable(new(economic(
knowledge(and(commercialize(it”.! In! order! to! truly! understand! the! functioning! of! regional!
economies!one!should!understand!the!behaviour!of!its!human!agents!(Bristow!&!Healy,!2014).!
This!behaviour!is!structured!through!formal!institutions!like!e.g.!a!country’s!constitution,!laws!
and!property!rights!and!its!informal!institutions!like!traditions,!codes!of!conduct!(North,!1991)!
and!the!cultures!of!work!and!the!ways!of!doing!business!(Ewers,!2013).!The!role!of!institutions!
in!pursuing!a!specific!economic!growth!path!is!crucial!as!they’re!responsible!for!providing!the!
economy’s!incentive!structure!(North,!1991).!!
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Results(
The!Sultanate!of!Oman!doesn’t!have!an!extensive!or!long!history!with!conducting!aquaculture.!
As!the!skillirelatedness!of!the!existing!fisheries!industry!is!limited!to!postiharvest!activities!
there!are!no!real!opportunities!for!labour!matching!when!it!comes!to!actual!fish!farming.!As!a!
result!the!development!of!aquaculture!in!Oman!follows!an!exogenous!growth!path!driven!by!the!
transplantation!of!knowledge!and!technology!from!elsewhere.!Making!use!of!this!imported!
knowledge! and! technology! attempts! are! made! to! make! major! leaps! in! technological!
advancement! and! catch! up! with! technological! leading! countries.! However! a! rather! poor!
absorptive! capacity! of! the! existing! aquaculture! industry! could! prevent! these! leaps! to!
successfully!take!place.!Using!the!knowledge!of!foreign!experts!the!country!is!fairly!good!in!
recognizing!valuable!new!knowledge!from!outside!to!develop!an!aquaculture!industry!in!the!
country,! however! assimilating! and! using! this! knowledge! locally! has! proven! to! be! quite!
problematic!somehow.!Weak!collaboration!between!actors!involved!in!the!aquaculture!industry!
and!a!general!lack!of!coordination!of!aquaculture!activities!makes!regional!learning!problematic!
and!negatively!influences!the!opportunities!for!a!functional!local!innovation!system.!As!the!
institutional! framework! is! also! clearly! not! geared! towards! innovation! and! renewal! the!
development!of!aquaculture!in!Oman!suffers!from!a!lack!of!incentives!for!innovation!and!an!
‘innovation!culture’!in!general.!!
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With!regards!to!the!role!of!institutions!it!is!most!of!all!the!role!of!the!Ministry!of!Agriculture!and!
Fisheries!Wealth!that!is,!in!contrast!to!what!one!would!expect!considering!the!aim!of!developing!
a!worldiclass!aquaculture!industry,!rather!constraining!instead!of!enabling.!The!ministry!has!
created!an!environment!in!which!it!for!foreign!companies!is!very!difficult!to!do!–!but!especially!
start!their!business,!notwithstanding!the!financial!incentives!provided.!The!process!of!licensing!
private!sector!project!proposals!takes!too!long!despite!the!existence!of!a!‘one(stop(shop’!for!
aquaculture!within!the!ministry.!As!a!result!the!willingness!of!foreign!companies!to!pursue!their!
investments!in!Oman!is!seriously!affected,!which!is!problematic!as!the!development!of!the!
aquaculture!industry!is!dependent!of!foreign!private!sector!projects.!!Additionally!through!
strong!government!involvement!in!the!labour!market!is!also!local!private!initiative!very!limited.!
Because!of!a!lack!of!existing!skills!in!aquaculture!as!well!as!a!lack!of!both!entrepreneurial!spirit!
and!a!‘hands!on’!mentality!is!there!no!Omani!workforce!ready!yet!to!work!in!the!aquaculture!
industry.!!
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Towards(a(blue(revolution(in(a(hydrocarbon(society?( 7!
Recommendations((
Arising!from!the!results!of!this!research!can!be!concluded!that!the!current!growth!trajectory!of!
the!Omani!aquaculture!industry!doesn’t!hold!the!potential!to!actually!develop!as!a!viable!growth!
path!in!the!economy.!Major!improvements!are!needed!in!order!to!‘turn!the!tide’!and!provide!an!
environment!in!which!the!current!infant!aquaculture!industry!in!Oman!can!thrive.!Especially!
enabling!learning!opportunities,!innovation!and!private!sector!activities!need!to!be!seriously!
addressed.!In!this!research!a!set!of!several!policy!recommendations!is!being!done.!These!are!
mainly!to!be!addressed!at!the!Ministry!of!Agriculture!and!Fisheries!Wealth!but!are!for!practical!
reasons!also!useful!for!private!sector!actors!and!knowledge!institutes.!Among!others!these!are!
some!of!the!recommendations!being!done:!
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1. Coordinate!learning!&!innovation:!address!a!local!aquaculture!innovation!system!and!
emphasize!the!need!for!collaboration!of!a!wide!range!of!actors,!integrate!all!projects!in!a!
wider!context!to!ensure!maximum!learning!opportunities,!embedding!and!follow!up!of!
R&D!projects.!Emphasize!the!commercialization!of!knowledge.!!!
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2. Focus!on!capacity!building:!basic!level!knowledge!and!specific!higher!education!require!
major!improvements.!Focus!on!increasing!both!the!basic!biological!knowledge!of!students!
as!well!as!specific!aquaculture!knowledge!on!master!level.!Additionally!train!existing!staff!
at! research! centres! and! stimulate! knowledge! transfers! between! expats! and! local!
employees.!
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3. Reform!the!labour!market:!reforms!are!needed!at!both!the!supply!and!the!demand!side.!
Besides!improvement!of!skills!do!work!ethics!need!to!be!addressed,!the!Omanization!policy!
should!be!reconsidered!and!the!Ministry!of!Agriculture!and!Fisheries!Wealth!should!stop!
expanding!itself!at!the!expense!of!private!sector!activity.!Promote!private!sector!activity!
and!issue!permits!more!rapidly!to!enable!private!sector!projects!to!start.!!!
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Towards(a(blue(revolution(in(a(hydrocarbon(society?( 8!
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1.!Introduction
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Towards(a(blue(revolution(in(a(hydrocarbon(society?( 9!