EGYPT

1. INTRODUCTION

Egyptian coastal lagoons cover a total area of about 235 000 ha with lake Manzala as the largest one (85 000 ha) followed by lake Bardawill (65 000 ha), lake Burullus (56 000 ha), lake Edku (11 500 ha) and Port Fouad lagoon (8 000 ha). According to various estimates the production of these lagoons should attain between 80 000 and 90 000 t/year (Pedini, 1987).

Although the culture of fish in Egypt has been practiced for a long period, the actual interest to develop formally diverse aquaculture did not start until ten years ago when preliminary experiments showed that fish culture could contribute substantially to total fish production. Capture fisheries along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt have declined over the years, partly the result of the general decline of stock and partly the result of lower levels of nutrients reaching the sea from the River Nile since the building of the Aswan Dam.

MEDRAP selected in 1985 Raswa farm as pilot project (TR/85/08); the objective was to improve fishing and rearing techniques of fry collected in the natural environment and to study the possibility of developing new technologies. However, this project, for several reasons, never started (Review of the Mediterranean Regional Aquaculture Project).

In September 1987, an IFAD and FAO Investment Centre mission travelled to Cairo to assist the GOE to identify fisheries/aquaculture project for possible financing by IFAD, with particular attention to lake Burullus which was selected by the Government as project area (Pedini).

2. CURRENT STATE OF AQUACULTURE

There are now more than a thousant fish farms in the country utilizing more than 60 000 feddans of water, 12 000 of which are government and the remainder private.

The aquaculture activity in Egypt has been confined to four systems of fish culture, namely: pond culture, enclusure or hosha culture, integrated culture and cage culture.

2.1 Pond culture

The area is little more than 60 000 feddans using the semi-intensive and extensive systems of fish culture and producing about 25 000 to 30 000 t/year (Review of the organization of agricultural and fisheries research, technology and development in Egypt).

Most of the farms are found in areas north of the Delta although some are found in upper Egypt. The kind of fish cultured depends on the nature of the water, either brackish or fresh.

The common fish species used in pond culture are either mullet or carp, either separately (monoculture) or together (polyculture). This of course in addition to tilapia, which are always present in the ponds. The resources of fish seed are the carp hatcheries and mullet fry collecting stations along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

2.2 Enclosure or Hosha culture

The hoshas are enclosure built with mud and reed dykes which are characteristic of both lake Manzala and lake Burullus.

The total area of these hoshas has not been accurately estimated.

Pedini in his report (1987) gives Ifagraria data of 1982 for lake Burullus: 18 000 ha of hoshas.

The area of each hosha farm varies between 25 and 2000 feddans.

The operation of the farms ranges from the primitive (extensive) type, which depends for seed supply on the neighbouring natural lake, to the developed enclosure (intensive) system which depends on its stocking with naturally produced fish seed and also use artificial feeding and fertilization. Most of these farms are of brackishwater types and mainly produce mullet. The production reaches about 650 kg or more per feddan per year to give a total production of about 30 000 t/year. (Review of the organization of agricultural and fisheries research, technology and development in Egypt).

2.3 Integrated fish farming

For the time being this type of fish culture is confined to the culture of mirror carp in rice fields. Experiments on the culture of carp in Egyptian rice fields go back to the late 1950's; unfortunately, there was no follow up of these successful experiments probably due to the shortage in the supply of young carp to meet the requirement of an intensive rice-carp culture programme. In 1982/93 GAFRD took again the rice carp culture and over 52 000 feddans of rice fields were stocked with mirror carp yearlings. The programme was very successful and an average production was obtained of 60 – 100 kg of fish/feddan to yield a total of about 4 000 t of marketable size carp in only 3 months. GAFRD has plans to increase the area of rice fields to be stocked with carp to 400 000 feddans in the coming years.

Experience in integrated fish culture comes from the duck-cum-fish farming now in the preliminary stages at the High Dam Lake in Aswan and in the feeding canal of the Nozha hydrodrome in Alexandria.

2.4 Cage culture

This type of fish culture has also started recently but is still in the experimental stages in Egypt in respect of some freshwater fish (tilapia, carp, Nile perch) as well as selected marine fish (Chrysophsys auratus, Morone labru).

2.5 Fish seed production

For marine species, 5 collecting stations are now in operation along the Mediterranean coast.

Artificial reproduction of marine species is scheduled in only two projects: Bardawil lagoon for the production of 500 000 sea bass fingerlings and 2 500 000 shrimp post larvae (P. japonicus) and in the Edko lagoon for the artifical reproduction of mullet (MEDRAP. TR/86/08).

The demand for carp seed has been increasing in the last few years. Several hatcheries have been established since 1980 and have produced over 140 million fry. (Review of the organization of agricultural and fisheries research technology and development in Egypt).

Of these hatcheries, the GAFRD has three stations already in operation with maximum production of 60 million fry in addition to another station under construction with a maximum capacity of 30 million fry. This in addition to other fish hatcheries of the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Ministry of Irrigation, Suez Canal University and Arab contractors.

3. PROGRAMME

At the highest levels in the Ministry of Agriculture, Government officials have expressed their commitment to development of the fisheries sector as a whole, from artisanal fishermen to large scale public sector initiatives.

However, in the past, GAFRD's (General authorities for Fisheries Resources Development) main emphasis has been on expanding production through a network of Government fish farms, fish hatcheries and fry collection centres. Support for the artisanal sector has not been a priority (Pedini).

The 1984–87 programme of GAFRD covers fish farming and artificial propagation of fish, improvement of fishing and strengthening fishermen cooperatives. The total amount allocated for this programme is about L.E. 69.3 million. The High Dam lake Development Authority has a programme to develop the fisheires of the lake which will cost LE 36.5 million over the next five years. The programme covers the establishment of a Fish Management Centre, improvement of fish storage, harbour facilities, new carrier vessels, additional fish meal units, fish net factory, establishment of 20 fish hatcheries.

4. PRODUCTION

Fish production is derived from a water area of some 6 million feddans (1 feddan = 0.44 ha). Of this total area:

4 186 000 feddans are marine area in the Mediterranean and Red seas

798 000 feddans are in natural, fresh, brackish and saline lakes

178 000 freshwater Nile River and its irrigation and navigations connexions

1 000 000 High Dam Lake

(Review of the Organization o Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Technology and Development in Egypt).

About 157 000 feddans of rice field are producing fish as a secondary product. The total area of rice field which could conceivable be used in this way is in order of 210 000 ha (Country Report on Egypt).

The resource in terms of juveniles of euryaline species seems still very important (about 120 – 150 million fry per year for the mullets which are caught for aquaculture purposes).

Pedini (personal comm.) during his mission to Egypt (1987) collected the following unpublished 1985 data of production for carp, tilapia, mugil, eel:

5. MARKETING

Due to a long tradition of eating fresh fish, the consumption of such fish is preferred. However, increasing amounts of frozen fish are entering the markets as the cold storage chain improves. If fish are not consumed locally, salting may be practised, in particular on Mediterranean fishing boats. Processing facilities are limited to shrimp freezing and sardine canning but other canning facilities are planned (FIRI/C770.8).

Cooperatives have to market fish production; however, private traders market practically all the production. Landing and collecting places called “hallaka” are established all around the lagoon and in the lagoon and leased to authorized traders. Fry can be sold only to the GAFRD 25% of the fish have to be sold by traders to the Governorate (Pedini).

The Fish Marketing Company (FMC) is the compulsory buyer of fish production and prices are fixed by the Ministry of supply at an artificially low level bearing no relation to cost of production or free market value (FIFI/C770.8).

Egypt fishery product import in 1985 was 108 314 t mainly represented by fish: 71 179 and fish meal 25 000 to (FAO, Yearbook of fishery statistics).

FMC has the monopoly of fish imports: the company imports only frozen fish, mainly from USSR, but also from Sweden, Korea and Yemen (FIRI/C770.8). Exports have never amounted to a significant level: 216 in 1985 (FAO, Yearbook of Fishery Statistics).

6. INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

The institution responsible for fisheries and aquaculture development is the general Authorities for Fish Resources Development (GAFRD) of the Ministry of Agriculture. GAFRD, which was established by Presidential Decree in 1983, has the overall responsibility for development and conservation of fisheries resources (except those of the High Dam lake) under the supervision of the Minister of Agriculture.

Law and regulations related to lagoon fisheries and fish farming are proposed by GAFRD. A national Commission consisting of the GAFRD, the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (IOF), the Ministry of Irrigation, the Water Bodies Police, reviews the technical parametres to be adopted. Laws and regulations are thereafter voted by the Parliament and promulgated by the President of the Republic or by the Minister of Agriculture.

The Ministry of Irrigation is responsible for the control of irrigation and drainage waters which are the main source of fresh water to lagoons and for increasing the agricultural area through land reclamation and thus reducing lagoon area devoted to fishery. The Ministry is also responsible for the use of grass carp in irrigation and drainage canal for control aquatic weeds and also for production of carp fingerlings to be stocked in rice fields.

The Shore Protection Authority (SPA) is part of this Ministry and it is involved in maintenance of seashore and lagoon inlets.

The Water Bodies Policies come under the Ministry of Interior. They are placed under the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and more specifically the GAFRD to enforce the law.

The Ministry of Supply is concerned with price control and supply fish at low cost to consumers, through the Fish Marketing Company (FMC).

FMC is mainly responsible for importing fish and for marketing at subsidized prices both imported fish and lake Nasser production.

The Governor is responsible for authorizing the quantity of fish to be exported from the Governorate, and for fish farming development in 200 m wide strip surrounding the area under GAFRD responsibility.

7. RESEARCH

Several organizations have been involved in fisheries research in varying degrees:

The Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (IOF), under the National Academy of Science and Technology, is responsible for most of the research carried out in fisheries and related subjects, including lake fisheries and fish culture. The Institute has more than 200 staff members of whom 62 have Ph.D. degrees in various fields of fisheries science. The staff is distributed among 4 major branches: Mediterranean Sea Branch in Alexandria (151 staff members); Red Sea Branch in Suez; Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Branch in Cairo and Shore Protection Branch in Alexandria. The research programme of the IOF Branch of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture has been concentrated as: the artificial breeding of important food fishes; minimizing the mortality of fish fry; raising the productivity of fish farms; introduction of non-traditional methods of fish culture such as cage and pen culture.

The High Dam Lake Authority (HDLOA) through its Fishery Management Centre (FMC) is conducting applied research to maintain and increase fish production from the lake. The staff of the centre is now composed of ten newly recruited junior scientists who are receiving technical assistance and supervision from a Japanese consultant Group (Review of the Organization of Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Technology and Development in Egypt).

The University of Alexandria (Oceanography Dept.) and Suez Canal are conducting limited research in oceanography, fisheries, artificial breeding, limnology and other aquatic sciences.

8. TRAINING

The Department of Oceanography of the University of Alexandria is considered as the main training institutions for the aquatic sciences and fisheries in Egypt. The curricula of the Department cover: biological oceanography, chemical and physical oceanography, geological oceanography and fishery biology. The Faculty of Agriculture, University of Alexandria, gives some fishery training, mostly in fish technology, along with some courses in gear technology, fish biology and aquaculture.

The University of Suez Canal in Ismalia has recently started a training programme in fisheries mainly in aquaculture and oceanography in the faculties of Agriculture and Sciences.

On a lower training level, the ANFOUSCHY Secondary Industrial School for Fisheries and Marine Mechanics in Alexandria (established in 1967) and Ras el Bar Secondary School (established in 1981) are training technicians in fishery and marine mechanics.

In-service training has also been carried out by the different fishery establishment in the country (Review of the Organization of Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Technology and Development in Egypt).

9. RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations have been formulated by a group of national consultants arranged by FAO to provide information to the mission set up by FAO in response to the Government of Egypt's request for a comprehensive review of its agricultural and fisheries organization and activities. (The organization o agricultural and fisheries research, technology and development in Egypt):

-   to overcome impediments to research and consequently to fishery development, specific short and long term action programmes need careful consideration.

-   short term actions are needed to: organize research groups and to give problem orientation to their research programmes, develop a training programme for rapid formation of a core of trained scientists.

-    a close link between resource research and fishery administration should be established, perhaps initially through the creation of a “Fishery Research and Development Joint Policy Advisory Committee”. The committee should be responsible for streamlining, allocating priorities and coordinating fishery research between and among the different fishery agencies in Egypt.

-   priorities in fisheries research should be directed towards: evaluation of the fisheries resources, their state of exploitation and expected potential; evaluation of fishing gears and their effect on fish stocks; monitoring of fisheries projects and management measures; aquaculture with special regard to management, operation, pond construction, fish hybrids, fish feed, etc.

-   training in areas of technological research such as exploratory fishing, fish procesing, fish handling, col storage, fish farm engineering, artificial breeding and extension service should have first priority and it will often be advisable that trainees be sent abroad because of the lack of trained scientists in certain specific fields in Egypt.

-   an incentives programme should be established to raise the morale and problem oriented research productivity of the research and technical staff especially those working in isolated remote areas.

-   long-term or continuous studies such as life history studies of fishes, chemical analysis, physiology, biochemistry, etc. could be handled by universities. Other technological studies such as catch data analysis, catch per unit of efforts, pollution effects, stock assessment, selectivity of fishing gears, market studies, etc., should be carried out by the appropriated government fishery establishment continuously and on regular programme basis, as required.

Fishery education at all levels needs to be strengthened or re-oriented to meet the requirements of the fishing industry. University curricula should be augmented by special courses in fishery technology. Planning for this should be based on studies of future manpower needs.

At an intermediate level, secondary trade schools (as at Anfoushy and Ras El-Bar) need to be complemented by special training for technicians, extension workers, law enforcement officers andd statistic collectors. To gain from experience, it would be advisable to evaluate the contribution of the Anfoushy school to the fishing industry over the past 15 years.

To overcome the apparent gap between university theoretical training and the technical abilities of fishery secondary trade school graduates, it is recommended that a “Technical Fishery Institute” should be established. Facilities at the Arab Maritime Transport Academy in Alexandria could house the proposed Institute quite satisfactorily.

REFERENCES

Pedini - Office Memorandum: Egypt: Fisheries Identification Mission - October 1987

MEDRAP - TR/85/08 - Marine Aquaculture Development in Egypt. Proposals for a pilot project. August 1985.

Review of the Mediterranean Regional Aquaculture Project. July 1987.

Review of the organization of agricultural and fisheries research, technology and development in Egypt. FAO May 1985

FAO - Yearbook of fisheries statistics, 1985 vol. 60–61

Country Report on Egypt - Draft. November 1985.

FIRI/C770.8 National reviews for aquaculture development in Africa. No. 8: Egypt July 1986