The Ministry of Agriculture will not allow the practice of freshwater fish farming with the exception of farms targeted by the ministry for food security, said Jaber Al-Shahri, ministry undersecretary and spokesman.

The ministry’s Marine Fisheries Department recently reported that freshwater consumption for fish farming is on the rise and that such a method is draining underground water resources. The phenomenon is widespread due to a lack of supervision and penal action against violators.

He said the ministry had spotted irregularities at several farms and have asked their owners to rectify them.

“The ministry will withdraw the licenses of farms that do not address irregularities and will request regional governors to close down these facilities through legal rulings,” he said.

The ministry also attributed the rise in consumption levels to weak technical management of water resources, which are operated by unqualified foreign labor.

Other reasons include the lack of specialized agricultural engineers in the field, using unsuitable feedstock for feeding the fish, the random storage management of fish in fish ponds, poor guidance for investors in fish farming projects and a lack of environmental awareness for preserving underground water resources.