Syria has a total land area of about 185 000 km2 and a population (1978) of more than 8 million of which about 1 million live in the two coastal governorates (Mohafazat) of Tartous and Latakia (see map, Appendix 4).
Annual rainfall varies markedly between the dry main part of the country (south and east), and the wet zones (north and west); annual rainfall is 783 mm/year at Latakia. The mean monthly precipitation at Latakia for the years 1966–73 is given in Table 3; it shows a maximum in December and a minimum in July.
Annual mean monthly air temperatures in Latakia vary from 11.7°c in January to 26.5°c in July.
Most frequent winds come from the south during the summer season, and from north-east during winter. Maximum wind speed is 23 m/s or 83 km/h.
The Syrian coastline is about 183 km in length. There are no lagoons, no estuaries, no closed bays. Most coastal rivers are short (less than 50 km) and seasonal; the main river (Orortes or Asi) is separated from the Syrian coast by mountains (Jebel Ansariye) and is directed back into Turkey.
The coast is rocky in the north of Latakia, with small sandy beachs; around Latakia, there are some sandy stretches, but many of them are separated from the sea by high dunes. A small steep shore, between Jeble and Baniyas, prevents easy access to the shorelines from the neighbouring land. The shelf area (to -200 m) is about 1 160 km2, however only 40 km between Latakia and Baniyas are trawlable, at a distance of 2–3 mi from the coast. Even if the Mediterranean waters are generally not very fertile, there are some rich fishing grounds as a result of river deltas and influx of nutrient-rich water. Syria has very limited areas of that type.
There are no permanent records of physico-chemical characteristics of coastal waters. Annual mean monthly water temperature varies from 17°c in February to 29°c in August. The minimum in January seems to be near 14°c.
During the 1970s, domestically-produced supplies varied between 1 300 and 4 000 t, or between 0.2 and 0.6 kg/caput/year. In 1980, the total domestic catch was about 4 000 t (3 000 t from freshwater production, 1 000 t from marine fisheries). Fish is caught through most of the year; but trawling is forbidden between 15 May and 1 September. Current landings of marine fish are estimated (1978) at 1 360 t, of which the major part (800–850 t) comes from private fishermen. There is no wholesale market; in Latakia, fish is sold to retailers by auction. Elsewhere, fish is sold directly by the fishermen to retailers.
Imports represent 60–70% of total fish supply; they account for 8 000–9 000 t/year. Fresh or frozen fish amounted to 6 130 t in 1979 and 5 439 t in 1980 (Table 6), of which marine fish represent more than 85%; marine fish are imported from Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Imports of fish are greater than imports of meat (Table 7).
Until 1981, import licences were given to the main dealers but in 1981 it was decided to allow the only state-owned General Establishment of Consumption (GEC) to import fish: this new organization was established in 1982.
Fresh marine fish is only marketed in coastal regions, and to a lesser extent, in Damascus; this is because of the limited production, and because the methods of preservation are often inefficient in small towns or villages.
The distribution chain of fresh or frozen fish is short: as already stated, there is no wholesale market, and middlemen have been eliminated. Marketing can take several forms, as is shown, for example in Fig. 3. Direct marketing between fishermen and consumer occurs in many coastal communities, and for freshwater fish, in Homs or Damascus. In Latakia, the fish market consists of a primary market (auction: fisherman-retailer), and a secondary market (fish-ship-consumer; fish-small retailer-consumer). In Tartous, Jeble and Baniyas, there are other small markets, without a primary market. A part of the production of marine fish (100 t/year) is exported to Lebanon: these exports consist of highly prized species (sea-breams, shrimps, etc.) and are important because they are paid for in convertible currencies.
(i) General features
Syria is increasing consumption of all animal protein foods by about 10–12% per year, either through imports, or through national production.
Fish is maintaining a relative share of the market of about 6–8% (Table 8) mainly through marine fish imports and development of freshwater production. The per caput consumption of animal protein in Syria is still lower (about 19 kg/year in 1979), than in similar Mediterranean or Arab countries. Of the 17 Mediterranean countries, Syria occupies the twelfth place. Per caput consumption of fish is very low (1.5 kg), and, even with the supplies of imported fish, is lower than most other countries in the Mediterranean region or other Arab countries. Consumption is not equally distributed; fresh marine fish is obtained only along the Mediterranean coast, and other imported or freshwater fish are only available in the main cities.
(ii) Prices
Some wholesale prices of fresh whole fish during 1982 are given in Table 9. These mean prices vary according to the seasons. Due to the abundance of vegetables, fruit and even meat in spring and summer, prices are then lower; in winter they substantially increase.
Retail prices are about 40% higher than wholesale prices. Prices on the Damascus market (frozen and freshwater fish), and Latakia (fresh marine fish) in June 1981 are given in Table 10.
Domestic consumption seems to favour small and medium-sized fish (200–500 g). Large individuals or highly-prized fish, such as Pagrus, Epinephelus, sea-breams are normally bought by hotels or sent to Lebanon.
Imported frozen marine fish are less expensive than local fresh marine fish, but seem to be of much lower quality. Canned fish cannot be compared with fresh fish and does not supply the same market.
In conclusion, fresh marine fish is consumed by high income categories, or coastal populations; highly-prized marine fish may command 5 or 6 times as high a price as chicken, 2 or 3 times beef, the same or 2 times mutton (Table 10). It was not possible to obtain much first-hand information especially on the fluctuation of demand for fish with respect to price.
According to GEF there are strong social constraints against marine fishing. It is a hard occupation, and, incentives lacking, does not attract newcomers.
As regards investment, the best way of overcoming resistance to innovation would be to introduce marine fish-farming gradually, while ensuring that the methods employed are those most certain to achieve positive economic results. The Government, through the GEF, should take steps to bring this about.
Apart from breeders, eggs or fry, the major inputs in fish-farming include some of or all the following: manpower, land, water, supplementary feed, fertilizer, construction materials, services, energy (see Appendix 5).
The GEF has a staff of 15 or 20 aquaculturists, all employed in freshwater fish-farms. During the 1970s, these aquaculturists were sent to USSR, or the German Democratic Republic and trained in trout culture or carp culture. There is no training course in aquaculture in Syria, and none of the trainees had had any previous experience before they were sent abroad. Several were also sent to Europe, Japan, etc., through study tours.
There are no specific courses in marine biology, fisheries or oceanography in the four Syrian universities. The new oceanographic centre in Latakia is planning to offer a course in oceanography sciences, but this course and associated relevant research work seem to be too academic: the basic disciplines necessary in the field of aquaculture include not only biology or physico-chemistry, but also physiology, nutrition, feed technology, engineering and economics. During the next four years, a few selected candidates should participate in courses abroad.
The scarcity of well trained aquaculturists (especially in hatchery technology) is likely to be a constraint on the development of marine aquaculture for some years to come. To overcome this, the Government may resort to calling on foreign technical assistance, which is comparatively more expensive, and will not be very effective unless national counterparts are provided.
2.4.1.2 Fish-farmers and labourers
Culture of marine fish in raceways or in ponds does not require skills more complicated than for freshwater fish-farming, or more generally in agriculture. Fish-farmers and labourers should be able to learn provided that they are initiated into the activity by competent professional and technical staff.
Production of fry, in a hatchery, is more sophisticated, and requires well trained people. Such training could be organized in a first pilot farm.
Land will be needed for aquaculture in raceways and ponds along the shore. The Government or the local authorities own coastal land in several places, either sandy non-cultivated areas or potential urban industrial extension areas. In addition, state-owned companies (electricity, petrol, etc.) own large areas surrounding their industrial implementation.
There are such suitable areas between Latakia and Jeble, in Baniyas (Sin farm and power station), in Latakia (near the Oceanographic centre) and south of Tartous.
2.4.3.1 Water supply
There is no possibility of using water, either by the rise and fall of the tide (which is so slight that replenishment of ponds is not practicable in this way), or by the use of floating or fixed structures (cages, rafts) because these need a well protected area. Pumping will be necessary everywhere.
2.4.3.2 Water quality
There are no detailed data on seawater quality in Syria. Seawater temperature in coastal areas range throughout the year from 14° to 30°c. There are only 4 months when temperatures are below 20°c (December–March); seawater salinity ranges from 38 to 39.3‰ No data have been found concerning the dissolved oxygen content.
The animal feed industry in Syria has followed the rapid increase in the poultry production and imports of feed have greatly increased during the last few years.
2.4.4.1 Availability of ingredients
There will be no difficulty in finding local or imported ingredients for the preparation of fish feeds. The supplies and prices of ingredients (in 1981) are in Table 11. Feed ingredients distribution is the responsibility of the General Establishment of Fodder, which buys from local producers or abroad, and sells to the farmers, either separated or compound (Table 12). Prices are high, and even if local production of soya or maize could be developed during the present 5-year Plan, there is no reason to suppose that the cost of animal feedstuffs will decrease in the future. In addition, other local ingredients could be used to produce fish feed: blood, meat and bone wastes (especially from poultry farms), marine fisheries trashfish (crabs, small fish) and silkworms (250–300 t/year). None of these ingredients have been used in animal farming to date. It should be easy to use them in preparation of fishfeeds, as they are centralized in such industries as the GEF, state-owned poultry farms, state silk factory, etc. Their nutritive value is reported as satisfactory for aquaculture. Detailed investigations should be conducted.
2.4.4.2 Feed preparation
Excepting for fish feeds there is no pelleting. The General Establishment of Fodder either prepare a mixed powder or sell the basic ingredient to the farmers, who prepare the feed themselves.
Total supply from the General Establishment of Folder in 1980 was about 560 000 t mostly for poultry production, using a large proportion of maize (Table 11).
2.4.4.3 Fish feeds
The quality of the fish feed depends on the quality of the ingredients and on how it is manufactured. Ingredients have to be ground as fine as possible and certainly more than what is usually accepted for poultry or livestock feeds. Pelleting is necessary and has to be such that losses are minimum during handling and when the pellets are in the water.
The present production of the General Establishment of Folder is destined only to carp and trout feeds. It is not a very good quality because of the lack of specific equipment, the short period of manufacturing which requires stocking of feeds during several months, and quality deterioration of the ingredients. No production is reported for fry or fingerlings feeds which are imported from Italy (£ 4/kg).
The best way to produce marine fish feeds would be to build a local unit in the fish farm facilities. It takes time to develop such production, and so before beginning to manufacture locally it is advised to start with imported pelleted feeds (Table 13). At the same time, locally-produced foodstuff trials should be planned, and once an adapted formula is established, commercial production could be initiated.
Fertilizer is an important item in extensive production. However, this should be considered during the first stages of marine aquaculture development as intensive techniques are recommended.
It is pointed out that locally-produced or imported non-organic fertilizers are also available from poultry farms.
Skilled manpower is available in the construction industry; most of the basic materials (cement, pipes, wood, greenhouses, etc.) are locally available. Specific equipment, such as marine pumps, laboratory equipment, feed preparation equipment will have to be imported.
In freshwater systems and in many brackishwater aquaculture systems the energy requirement is small; in intensive or semi-intensive marine aquaculture systems, this is not the case. The main use of energy (electricity or mechanical power produced by fuel) would be for pumping, either to maintain a permanent flow in raceways or to replenish water in ponds, and to heat hatchery and fry-rearing ponds. Fuel is at present available at a very low price, and the price of electricity is moderate.
The fisheries sector is administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, through the GEF with headquarters in Jeble and a marine branch in Latakia.
The GEF has established several freshwater fish-farming units producing carp, tilapia and trout. One of them (Sin farm) is situated near Baniyas by the sea. There is no fisheries or aquaculture research centre, with the exception of a small station on Lake Assad.
The marine branch in Latakia owns 3 trawlers (producing 112 t in 1980) and has a staff of 40, of which 27 work on the trawlers. None seem to have much experience in marine aquaculture, other than that derived from study tours, especially to Japan.
There are 4 universities in Syria (Damascus, Homs, Aleppo and Latakia). None has a college of marine sciences, and there appears to be little cooperation between them and the GEF.
An oceanographic centre has been created in Latakia, with four laboratories (biology, physics, chemistry and geology).
This centre will recruit its staff of scientists from the four universities or from abroad; it is not yet decided if this centre will be administered by the Damascus university or if it will be autonomous. Such a centre could offer useful scientific support in marine aquaculture development.
There are no private marine aquaculture farms, but there are small-and large-scale commercial freshwater farms producing carps and tilapias. Production figures are not certain but seem to be around 300 t/year. Investments in marine aquaculture are expected in the future.
