AQUACULTURE IN EGYPT

Mr. M.A.M. AL GAZAR

Aquaculture in Egypt started in 1933 when Kunater fish farm established as a station for fish culture research.

The first fish farm was established in 1970 with the help of Soviet Union at Manzala, Northeast of the Nile Delta. It is about 400 hectares. These were also established 2 fish farms. One of them at Kafer El Shack 300 Ha, and other near Damanhor, Northwest of the Nile delta. It is about 800 Ha.

There are in Egypt (9 hatcheries for hatching common carp, Chinese carp and Tilapia 4 of them have been in existence for about 15 years and the other hatcheries will be established within one year.

All the farms and hatcheries are under the control of General Authority for fish Resources Development (G.A.F.R.D) which has control of all the seas. Lakes and the Nile river. It develops their resources of fish.

The system of fish culture in Egypt

The governmental farms have the extensive system of fish culture because the area of ponds is very big about 6 Ha, per pond and the average production per hectare in about 2 tons.

The total production from governmental farms is 4000 ton per Year, but the total production from the private farms is 40000 tons per year.

The total production of capture fisheries in the sea, lakes and the Nile river is 319000 tons per year So total production in Egypt is 363000 ton per year (1993).

The average person consumption of fish per year in Egypt is 5.7 kg., that is a small amount compared to the countries.

The C.A.F.R.D. has planned to improve the production of fish and increase the consumption of fish to 10 kg. per person/year by the year 2000.

The problem of sea capture fisheries is that it depends on Government for fishing vessels. these vessels are small and lack modem equipment. Our seas, the MEditerranean and Red Sea are very poor in natural food also poor in fish stock. That is why the solution will be fresh farming especially marine fish farming and intensive fresh and brackish-water farming. Lakes are being developed as well.

The G.A.F.R.D. will new construct all farms in the future semi-intensive and intensive system.

Fish farming in Egypt utilises ployculture system in ponds, and the important culture species are:

During the last year, (G.A.F.R.D.) tried to produce the (p1) of fresh water prawn-(macrobracum rosenbergii), but the survival rate of (PL.) was very low because of the lack of experience and the technique.

The production of the hatcheries in Egypt

As mentioned above, 4 hatcheries are active. The average production of each hatchery is about (38) million fingerlings of carp and (1) million fingerlings of tilapia.

The other 5 techniques will start work by the end of this year. Their expected production will be about 300 million fingerlings of carp and tilapia.

Fingerlings of grey mullet are obtained from the Mediterranean sea in August–September and December–January.

Most of tilapia production in Government farms is culture of bi-sex culture and not monosex. But the monosex tilapia is produced in small scale by using hormone in larval fed and by breeding Hybrid between 2 species of tilapia.

Many private farms produce monosex tilapia by breeding the Hybrid.

Fish nutrition

On the governmental farms both natural feed and artificial feed are used

1. Natural feed carried out by the fertilisation of ponds by natural and chemical fertilises.

2. Artificial feed:

The G.A.F.R.D. has 2 factories for producing artificial fish feed as pellets. There are 3 kinds of artificial feed. They are different in the content of crude protein. They are:

• 17% crude protein pellets, its price is 225 for 1 ton. It is generally used in feeding of commercial fish ponds.

• 25% crude protein pellets. Its price is about 255 Us dollars and are used in the nursery pond.

• 30% crude protein pellets. And it price is 295 Us Dollars. It is used in HATcheries for feeding larvae.

The fish culture season on the farms start in May and Last till November. Harvesting of ponds lasted for 4 months. After that the ponds are left to dry up for one month to prepare for the next season.