| English | The Fisheries Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) regularly conducts reviews of aquaculture status and trends, most recently in 2005. This regional review for the 17 countries in the Near East and North Africa is a synthesis of the available National Aquaculture Sector Overviews (NASOs) and Prospective Analyses for Future Aquaculture Development (PAFADs), with a focus on the period 1994¿2003. The review process also included regional expert workshops held in Cairo (Egypt) and Muscat (Oman) in 2005, for discussion of the regional aquaculture development, in particular the status, trends and challenges. The information from these workshops is also included in this regional review. In the last decade, the sector has demonstrated remarkable growth from 96 700 tonnes in 1994 to 566 250 tonnes in 2003, and the contribution of aquaculture to total fisheries increased from 4.5 percent to 18.7 percent. Nearly all countries are expected to increase their aquaculture production, manifest in increased production tonnage and diversity of culture species. Production is dominated by Egypt and the Islamic Republic of Iran, with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen being emerging producers. In many instances, increases in production are driven by a need to increase reliability of the domestic supply. Production of protein for human consumption is dominant, particularly of finfish such as tilapia, carps and marine finfish species; the Indian white prawn is the only crustacean of significant economic importance. Within food fish production the main trends are increased culture of marine species, intensification, and more integrated agriculture-aquaculture. Within non-food species, the main trend is towards production of ornamentals. Successfully addressing four key priority issues is essential for the continued growth of aquaculture in the region: (i) farming systems, technologies and species; (ii) marketing and processing; (iii) health and diseases, and (iv) policies, legal frameworks, institutions and investment. |
