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Aquaculture in Egypt: status, constraints and potentials

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DOI: 10.1007/s10499-016-9989-9

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Aquacult Int
DOI 10.1007/s10499-016-9989-9

Aquaculture in Egypt: status, constraints and potentials

Naglaa F. Soliman1 • Dalia M. M. Yacout1

Received: 9 March 2015 / Accepted: 24 February 2016

Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Abstract Aquaculture is a globally important industry that provides essential food to a

growing world population, with a major role in the supply of cheap animal protein. Very
rapid developments have been occurred in aquaculture sector of Egypt in recent years and
exhibited the strongest growth of any fisheries-related activity in the country. As a result,
aquaculture is considered as the only viable option for reducing the current gap between
production and consumption of fish in Egypt. The rapid expansion in support activities
such as local feed mills and hatcheries made the sector more sophisticated and diverse.
Globally, Egypt ranks 9th in fish farming production and 1st among African countries. The
aquaculture is practiced in different production systems including semi-intensive, intensive
culture in ponds, tanks, intensive production in cages and traditional extensive production
systems, but has yet to be adequately documented. Despite the fact that the aquaculture
sector in Egypt has witnessed a spectacular development, it has also created challenges
with respect to environmental issues and sustainability. This review provides an overview
of the status and the perspectives of Egyptian aquaculture sector.

Keywords Aquaculture industry
Egypt
Constrains
Environmental impacts

Introduction

As an alternative food source to capture fisheries, aquaculture has a great potential to meet
the growing demand for seafood and animal protein. Increased fish production of the
country through aquaculture can be considered as a recent success story in helping to feed
the Egypt’s population. Production has increased from about 92.5 thousand tonnes in 1971
to more than 1097,544 t in 2013, with most of this growth taking place in the Nile Delta

& Naglaa F. Soliman

dr_naglaa.farag@yahoo.com
1
Department of Environmental Studies, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria
University, Alexandria, Egypt

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 Aquacult Int

region. Despite the pressure on water, Egypt has the largest aquaculture industry in Africa
with a market value of over $2.18 billion (CAPMAS 2014). The industry provides about
75.46 % of the country’s fish production (GAFRD 2013), with virtually all the output
coming from small- and medium-scale privately owned farms. The main farmed fish is
Nile tilapia, and Egypt is the world’s second largest producer of farmed tilapia after China.
Grey mullet and carp are also farmed, sometimes in composite fish culture practice with
tilapia (Mur 2014). While semi-intensive aquaculture in earthen ponds is by far the most
important fish farming system in Egypt, intensive systems in both tanks and cages have
witnessed rapid development during recent years (Kleih et al. 2012). This tremendous
growth has provided a number of opportunities for greater food security, improved
livelihoods, and reduced poverty. However, it has also created challenges with respect to
environmental issues and sustainability. This review outlines the past and present situations
of aquaculture in Egypt and discusses resources and developments interactions, priorities,
and constraints with particular emphasis on institutional, policy, and legal context gov-
erning aquaculture in Egypt.

Data sources

We used publications from GAFRD (General Authority for Fish Resources Development),
Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), and data collected from
reports funded by World Fish Center and FAO. We also reviewed over 100 publications,
and reports gathered from the library of higher education institution, Egypt, and the
internet. Also, there have been extended visits to some fish farms in Kafr El Shaikh and
Damietta Governorates, the top governorates for aquaculture farming in Egypt.

Results and discussion

Current aquaculture status in Egypt

Production

Aquaculture might be known in ancient Egypt. There are paintings in some of the tombs of
the pharaoh’s which show fish, probably Tilapia, in man-made pools indicating some type
of fish culture (Mcvey 1994). Modern aquaculture began in the mid-1930s following the
introduction of the common carp at two research farms; from then until the early 1960s, the
carp was kept purely for research purposes. However, the present aquaculture system
began to expand noticeably from 1960s to 1970s when a scientific base for aquaculture
development was practiced (FAO 2010). In the late 1970s, an aquaculture development
plan was proposed to boost the development of the sector. By the end of the plan in the
mid-1980s, annual aquaculture production had jumped from a mere 17,000 t to about
45,000 t. Until the mid-1980s, aquaculture activities were confined to the Eastern and
Northern Delta Regions. All production derived from either semi-extensive or semi-in-
tensive pond systems using fresh and low saline brackishwater. Traditional, privately
owned aquaculture farms, producing mostly tilapia and mullet, operated using large
shallow ponds of up to 25 ha with production as low as (250–400 kg/ha). This type of
production depends mainly on enhanced natural productivity through the addition of

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natural fertilizers (manure) and limited use of artificial feeds (usually rice bran; FAO
2010). The beginning of marine species culture, such as Dicentrarchus labrax, Sparus
aurata, Solea vulgaris, Argyrosomus regius and Penaeus semisulcatus, was in the 1990s
(Dighiesh 2014). In the mid-1990s, intensive pond aquaculture was introduced with the
aim of replacing the semi-intensive and traditional farms. Intensive farming has been
expanding as a result of the high returns on investments (FAO 2010).
From small levels of production in the early 1990s, fish farming has expanded rapidly
while capture fishing has remained fairly constant, even declining somewhat after peaking
at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Fish farming in Egypt currently represents the
largest part of production, where it reached up to 74 % of the total production, and the
private sector share of this production is more than 99 % (Shaheen et al. 2013; Fig. 1;
Table 1). The area being farmed increased from 42,000 ha in 1999 (El-Sayed 1999) to
120,000 ha in 2012 (GAFRD 2013).

Cultured species

Tilapia, carp and mullet comprise more than 95 % of Egyptian aquaculture production
indicating a narrow production basket. In 2012, the share of tilapia had increased to
768,752 t. Other major species are mullet (129,651 t), carp (67,065 t), and to a lesser
extent also sea bass (13,798), seabream (14,806 t) and shrimp (1109 t). Finally since 2008,
production of meager started and reached 8319 t in 2012 (CAPMAS 2012; Table 2;
Fig. 2). When taking a closer look at tilapia as the most important farmed species, Egypt
ranks second behind only China with a total value of about 900,000 USD (Rothuis et al.
2013). African catfish farming in the country is promising and gaining importance in recent
years. While production of tilapia is steadily increasing, production of carps is declining
due to less consumer preferences (Tables 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).

Farming systems distribution, characteristics, economics, and environmental issues

Aquaculture in Egypt consists of extensive, semi-intensive and intensive farming systems.

Fish farms are distributed through the Nile Delta region and concentrated mainly in the
Northern lakes (Maruit, Edko, Boruls and Manzala) area (Fig. 3; Tables 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).

Traditional extensive production system A famous regime for aquaculture called

HOSHA system was commonly practiced during forties to seventies. The farmer builds his
muddy pond on the lake shore and allows water from the lake to come in, with no control
for species or size of the fish (Sadek 2010). Fish (mainly tilapia) are trapped in the hosha

Fig. 1 Annual total fisheries and aquaculture production (GAFRD 2012)

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Table 1 The relative importance of fish farming in Egypt during 1991–2012 (GAFRD 2005, 2014)
1991–2001 2002–2012

Year Total production Production from Year Total Production from

1000 t aquaculture production aquaculture
1000 t
1000 t % 1000 t %

1991 346 60 17.3 2002 801.466 376.066 46.92

1992 346.6 60 17.3 2003 875.990 444.867 50.78
1993 356.7 54 15.1 2004 865.029 471.535 54.51
1994 368.2 53 14.39 2005 889.300 530.747 59.68
1995 407 71.7 17.62 2006 970.923 595.029 61.28
1996 431.6 91.2 21.13 2007 1008.008 635.517 63.05
1997 457 85.7 18.75 2008 1067.630 693.815 64.98
1998 545.6 128.5 23.55 2009 1092.888 705.490 64.55
1999 648.938 213.887 32.95 2010 1304.794 919.585 70.47
2000 724.407 340.093 46.94 2011 1362.174 986.820 72.44
2001 771.515 342.864 44.44 2012 1371.975 1017.738 74.18

Table 2 Fish production from

Species 2010 2011 2012
aquaculture during 2010–2012
(CAPMAS 2011, 2012, 2014) Ton % Ton % Ton %

Tilapia 557,049 60.58 610,617 61.88 768,752 75.54

Mullet 116,029 12.62 114,001 11.55 129,651 12.74
Carps 191,721 20.85 203,662 20.64 67,065 6.59
Others 54,786 5.95 58,540 5.93 52,268 5.13
Total 919,585 100 986,820 100 1,017,736 100

and rely on natural foods. It characterized by low yields of production approximately

250–750 kg/ha. Because of environmental damage and interference with lake fishing, the
hosha system is now prohibited although it still continues illegally in some places, and the
production from these systems is generally not captured in aquaculture production statistics
(El-Sayed 2007). Another traditional extensive production system is rice–fish farming.
This farming activity fluctuates with changes in the acreage declined to rice production
which in turn depends on the annual water budget (FAO 2010). Extensive culture systems
in Egypt are characterized by a low level of intervention, i.e., limited feeding and fertil-
ization, low capital investment, primitive management (Shaheen et al. 2013), and small
financial inputs (FAO 1990).
As expected, the risk factors are at their lowest in such systems but, because of the
increasing value of natural resources (especially water and land), the low productivity
obtained explains the trends of ‘‘upgrading’’ to higher culture categories that allow more
efficient use of water, land and labor. Production of one kg of fish needs around 12 m2 of
land and 25 m3 of water. The most feasible solution to overcome such problems is to
develop a semi-intensive fish farming (Ali 1999).

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Fig. 2 Features of aquaculture production (GAFRD 2012; CAPMAS 2012)

Table 3 Area and production of private fish farms (temporary) by fish group/MT during 2012
Governorate Area/ Production Total
feddan a
Meager European Gilthead Carp Mullets Tilapia
sea bass seabream nei nei

Kafr El Shaikh 61,400 – – – 19,897 11,940 183,063 214,900

Daqahlia 221 – – – 151 34 478 663
Sharkia 25,000 – – – 121,813 3866 61,477 77,526
Damietta 35,000 2859 4230 4009 1754 3881 3217 19,950
Port Said 50,000 – – – – 50,410 99,590 150,000
Ismailia 1500 – – – 300 1200 1500 3000
Total 173,121 2589 4230 4009 34,285 71,331 349,325 466,039

There are farms by north of Salam Canal of 40,000 feddan and another by south of Ports Fouad of 10,575
feddan, both were added to Port Said
a
Carp includes common, silver and largehead carp

Semi-intensive pond culture Semi-intensive fish culture in earthen ponds is, by far, the
most important farming system in Egypt. Semi-intensive pond aquaculture is the basic
system used in the country, and about 86 % of aquaculture production is obtained from
these systems. Most of the farms are located in the northern and eastern parts of the Nile
Delta (Fig. 4), where they utilize both brackish and freshwater. Brackish water and
freshwater ponds are generally constructed in depressed irrigated lands or saline lands.
Substantial areas of inland lakes, particularly in the northern Delta lakes and Maryut Salt
Valley near Alexandria, are also enclosed and transformed into production ponds in which
fish are produced under semi-intensive, polyculture conditions (El-Sayed 2007). Fish

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Table 4 Area and production of private fish farms (owned) by fish group/MT during 2012
Governorate Area/ Production Total
feddan
European Gilthead Carp Mullets Tilapia
sea bass seabream nei nei

Alexandria 51 6 10 – 10 – 26
Beheira 2408 – – 1083 362 5779 7224
Kafr El Shaikh 31,350 – – 10,158 6095 93,472 109,725
Sharkia 1628 – – 864 229 3790 4883
Ismailia 1553 310 311 311 1242 932 3106
Fayoum 2750 – – – 1651 9349 11,000
Beni Suef 71 – – – – 285 285
Total 39,811 316 321 12,416 9589 113,607 136,249

ponds vary in size from 0.5 to 12 ha. Polyculture is the most common type of production
but monoculture of Nile tilapia is also practiced in many areas. The stocking densities,
energy input, level of management as well as the size and type of infrastructure vary
greatly among different farms. Annual production in semi-intensive systems varies from 5
to 25 MT/ha (Shaheen et al. 2013; Tables 9, 10). Financial inputs consist mainly of seed
fish and low-grade feed. The costs are not high (FAO 1999). The cost of labor in semi-
intensive aquaculture varies between regions. In Kafr El Shaikh and Behaira Governorates,
a 10 ha farm requires 2 permanent workers, with a monthly salary of about US$50 per
person (US$800–1000 per 8- to 10-month cycle) plus an additional cost of about
US$100–120 ha for crop harvesting and other seasonal works. Thus, the total labor cost is
about US$180–220 US$/ha/cycle (average about US$200; El-Sayed 2007).

Intensive production in cages Fish culture in cage system is also widely used especially
in the Nile Delta region where semi-intensive and intensive farming are practiced with a
total production reaching to 249,385 t in 2012 (GAFRD 2012). These cages float and are
placed in the open part of the pond with at least two feet of water between the bottom of the
cage and the pond bottom (Shaheen et al. 2013; Fig. 4). The number of cages in operation
is much affected by erratic government policy to restrict and then reallow cages to operate
(Table 11). Nile tilapia is the principal cage culture species. The sizes of the cages vary
from small cages of around 32 m3 to larger cages of around 600 m3, with a productivity of
5–35 kg of fish per m3 depending on management (Rothuis et al. 2013; El-Sayed 2007). In
the large cages (10 9 10 9 6 m), tilapia fingerings (1–10 g) are stocked at 80–100 fish/m3
and are initially fed with 35–40 % CP pellets and then switched over to a 25–30 % CP
pellet for the fattening period, either manually or with automatic feeders. After
10–14 months, the fish reach an average weight of 400 g, and the final biomass at the end
of the production cycle is around 35 kg/m3. Some farmers stock their cages with larger fish
(40–60 g) and in this way are able to reduce the production cycle to 6–8 months (El-Sayed
2007). Very small cages of (2–4 m3) suspended in drainage canals are also used in rural
areas. Stocking densities are lower (20–40 fish/m3) and agricultural by-products are pro-
vided as feed. Production in these cages is low (5–10 kg/m3), but it is still profitable be-
cause of the low capital and input costs (El-Sayed 2007).
The environmental conditions in the Nile are no longer suitable for aquaculture, as the
water environment in the areas is polluted in varying degrees by inorganic nitrogen,

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Table 5 Area and production of private fish farms (leased) by fish group/MT during 2012
Governorate Area/feddan Production Total

Shrimps nei Meager Caranx spp. Catfishes European sea bass Gilthead seabream Carpa Mullets nei Tilapia nei

Matrouh 10 – – – – – – – 5 – 5
Alexandria 4659 – – – – 584 929 – 817 – 2330
Beheira 10,476 – – – – – – 4925 1665 24,838 31,428
Kafr El Shaikh 4500 – – – 1574 – – 2363 2363 9450 15,750
Damietta 28,000 1087 4834 593 722 8032 9193 1730 3974 9786 39,951
Sharkia 7066 – – – – – – 2204 1060 17,934 21,198
Daqahlia 300.4 – – 12 189 – – 128 27 545 901
Port said 2319 – 626 – – 35 – – 35 – 696
Ismailia 2119 22 – – 210 42 148 212 1060 2544 4238
Suez 813 – – – – – 147 – 1479 – 1626
Total 60,262.4 1109 5460 605 2695 8693 10,417 11,562 12,485 65,097 118,123
a
Carp includes common, silver and largehead carp

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Table 6 Area and production of Governmental fish farms by fish group/MT during 2012
Governorate Area/feddan Production Total

Mullets nei European sea bass Gilthead seabream Tilapia nei Catfishes Carpa Caranx spp. Others

Alexandria 4676 28 1 – 27 2 10 1 – 69
Beheira 2030 40 – – 791 12 277 1 – 1121
Kafr El Shaikh 3000 589 – – 2727 5 34 – – 3355
Damietta 1860 30 – 9 28 2 – – 2 71
El Sharkia 1600 67 208 – 2118 421 380 6 – 3200
Dakahlia 1000 141 – – 1239 12 265 – – 1644
Ismailia 45 13 – – 32 – – – – 45
Giza 3.11 – – – 4 – – – – 4
Total 14,214 895 209 9 6966 454 966 8 2 9509
a
Carp includes common, silver and largehead carp
Aquacult Int
Aquacult Int

Table 7 Area and production of fish in rice fields by fish group/MT during 2012
Governorate Area/feddana Production Total

Catfishes Tilapia nei Common carp

Beheira 53,250 373 639 1438 2450

Kafr El Shaikh 29,000 203 348 783 1334
Gharbia 26,000 182 312 702 1196
Sharkia 11,500 81 138 311 530
Daqahlia 52,600 368 631 1420 2419
Damietta 66,000 462 792 1782 3036
Ismailia 1500 10 18 41 69
Total 239,850 1679 2878 6477 11,034
a
Includes areas that benefiting from carp breeding project in rice fields

Table 8 Area and production of fish in rice fields inside and outside the project/MT during 2012
Governorate Area/feddan Production Total

Catfishes Tilapia nei Common carp

Inside the project 239,850 1679 2878 6477 11,034

Outside the project 1,237,020 8659 14,844 – 23,503
Total 1,476,870 10,338 17,722 6477 34,537

organic substances, phosphorus, and heavy metals. In Egypt, the water resources, both
fresh and brackish water, are the major constraints on further development, with use for
potable water and land crop production having priority over aquaculture activities. Because
of the legislation and environmental pressures of the cages, plus a conflict with other
activities, the Egyptian authorities have removed all the Nile cages behind the two final
fresh water control dams in the two Nile branches (Edfina and Faraskour). Today, most of
the tilapia cage projects were located in two governorates, Kafr-El-Sheik and Beheira, near
Rashid branch at the end of the Nile mouth with slightly brackish water. Few tilapia cages
are located in El-Rayan inland lake in the governorate of Fayum (Sadek 2013).

Intensive production in ponds and tanks Intensive pond aquaculture is now expanding to
replace large areas of the semi-intensive ponds. Intensive pond systems depend on well-
designed and constructed earthen ponds. They are smaller in size (0.3–0.6 ha) with higher
dykes allowing water depth to reach 1.5–1.75 m. The total area utilized for this kind of
aquaculture is 19,938 ha with an average production per hectare of 14–25 t (FAO 2010). In
desert aquaculture, fish tanks are integrated to agriculture, and this form of aquaculture is
expanding rapidly particularly in the western desert region (Rothuis et al. 2013).
Approximately 100 intensive tilapia rural farms and 20 commercial aquaculture farms
were established in the desert. These projects account for just 3 % of the overall aqua-
culture production of Egypt (FAO 2011). Intensive pond culture is another rapidly
developing sector in the last 10 years. Concrete tanks are used within integrated aqua-
culture and desert agriculture systems (Fig. 4). This type of production is currently creating
a growing awareness and gaining increasing acceptance as a result of the high rate of return
on the utilization of water. Financial inputs are high, and feed usuallythe greatest (FAO

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Fig. 3 Distribution of the main aquculture production sites (FAO 2010)

1990). Nile tilapia (mainly monosex) is the major cultured species in intensive production
of both tanks and ponds (Shaheen et al. 2013; Tables 9, 10). Intensive polyculture using
Nile tilapia and mullet (Mugil cephalus and Liza ramada) is practiced in Kafr El Shaikh
Governorate. Fish are stocked at about 50,000 fish/ha (37,000 tilapia and 13,000 mullet)
and fed on commercial pellets. The fish attain 200–300 g after 9–12 months and pro-
duction ranges from 15 to 20 t/ha (El-Sayed 2007). Fish culture in Recirculation systems is
new and emerging, mostly on pilot/experimental scale and sometimes integrated with the
production of vegetables (aquaponics). The total contribution of these intensive systems is
\5 % (Rothuis et al. 2013).
It is obviously that extensive system is the oldest systems in Egypt. The production of
this system depends on natural food with or without fertilization of substrates using manure
or organic wastes that increase natural food availability. The main characteristics of this
system are low input in fish density and very poor output. On the other hand, there are
plenty of underdeveloped small water bodies in the Nile Valley/Delta in Egypt. However,
it is difficult to practice modern-advanced aquaculture (intensive aquaculture) in these
small rural water bodies. The semi-intensive system is preferred by small- and large-scale
commercial farmers who are increasingly contributing to the development of aquaculture.
In this system, fish density is usually higher than in extensive culture, and farmers use
organic fertilization plus some supplementary feeds from locally available agricultural by-
products. The effect of stocking density on fish performance has been investigated by
Hassan and Mahmoud (2011) in earthen ponds over 5 months of growing period in a

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Cage; Mohamed Hagag Fish farms at Earthen ponds; Ahmed Kamal Morsy fish
Damietta Governorate farm at Kafr El Shaikh Governorate

Plastic ponds, Abdelsalam Hegazy fish Concrete ponds; Ismail Radwan fish farm
farm at Kafr El Shaikh Governorate at Kafr El Shaikh Governorate

Fig. 4 Different fish farming systems in Damietta and Kafr El Shaikh Governorates, Egypt

polyculture system including Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), common carp (Cyprinus
carpio), silver carp (Hypophthalmichtys molitrix), mullet (Mugil cephalus) and African
catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Experimental ponds have been allocated to various stocking
rates representing semi-intensive and extensive culture systems. Results showed that the
average fish production was significantly higher in semi-intensive ponds compared to that
in extensive ponds. However, for the main fish species (Nile tilapia), the average final
weight as well as the average daily weight gain did not vary among treatments, while there
were some differences with regard to average final weight for other species. There was no
difference concerning the condition factor in all treatments for any of the tested species.
The economical analysis revealed increases in variable costs as well as higher net returns
when the stocking density increased. However, the rate of return to capital percentage has
decreased with the increase in the stocking density. The overall analysis suggested that the
semi-intensive systems are the most profitable system.
The intensive systems with high stocking density is dependent on big capital investment
and complete formulated feeds which represent 40–60 % of the production costs. We
should pay more attention to the intensive system to improve fish production in Egypt in
the near future. Intensive aquaculture systems would become potentially more important
than semi-intensive aquaculture systems to ensure food security in Egypt, when we con-
sider its production efficiency and production capacity (Suloma and Ogata 2006).

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Table 9 Annual fish production from aquaculture from different farming systems, Egypt (GAFRD, fish statistics year book, 2012)
Source Year

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Governmental farms 7256 7183 7588 7955 8539 8547 6605 10,680 10,092 9509
Private farms 387,516 394,666 492,246 498,885 557,822 586,435 591,276 716,801 721,684 720,412
Semi-intensive 1030 2080 2472 2472 1580 1825 1860 1893 3115 1451
Intensive – – – – – – – 700 700 2444
Cages 32,059 50,403 19,839 80,141 62,276 69,108 68,049 160,288 216,122 249,385
Rice fields 17,006 17,203 17,603 5576 5300 27,900 37,700 29,223 35,107 34,537
Total aquaculture 444,867 471,535 539,747 595,029 635,517 693,815 705,490 919,585 986,820 1,017,738
Aquacult Int
Aquacult Int

Table 10 Production of fish by fish group according to the farming system

Species Total Aquaculture Intensive Semi- Cages Earthen ponds
production in rice fields aquaculture intensive
aquaculture Private Governmental

Tilapia nei 768,725 17,722 2436 1215 212,383 528,030 6966

Mullets nei 129,651 – 8 – 35,343 93,405 893
Carp 67,065 6477 – – 1359 58,263 965
Gilthead 14,806 – – 50 – 14,747 9
seabream
European 13,798 – – 50 300 13,239 209
seabream
Catfishes 13,622 10,338 – 135 – 2695 454
Meager 8319 – – – – 8319 –
Shrimps nei 1109 – – – – 1109 –
Caranx spp. 613 – – – – 605 8
Eels nei 1 – – 1 – – –
Others 2 – – – – – 2
Total 1,017,738 34,537 2444 1451 249,385 720,412 9509

Considerable potential for increased output exists by intensifying the production process
through higher stocking levels, use of supplementary feeding, aeration, and improved pond
management (El-Gayar 2003).
Table 12 represents the basic economics of fish farming for two different production
systems: one semi-intensive production in ponds and one intensive production in tanks
(Naziri 2011). The annual production of the two presented systems is the same, namely
120 t/year. As already presented, the yield in semi-intensive system is significantly lower
than in intensive system. The semi-intensive systems required a total area of 24 feddan
(about 10 ha) while the size of the intensive farm is only 2.5 feddan (about 1 ha). The
running costs of fish farming are very high: In semi-intensive production system, they
represent more than 95 % of total annual production costs; while in the intensive systems,
where the annual depreciation of initial investment is large, they stand for over 80 % of
total annual costs. Feed costs account for around 85 % of annual running costs and 82 and
72 % of total annual costs for production in ponds and tanks, respectively. The large
running costs are particularly an issue for semi-intensive production systems. Fish in ponds
is harvested between October and January since tilapia does not tolerate cold temperature:
Starting from October/November, it stops eating but can still survive for a couple of
months longer, although losing some weight. Conversely, in tanks, climatic conditions are
controlled and the farmer, if the system is properly managed, can decide to harvest
whenever he wants, for example, every 2 months. On the one hand, that means that
proceeds will be turned over several times a year, thus reducing the problem to cover all
the annual running costs before any sale may be done (as it happens in case of production
in ponds). On the other hand, this allows the farmer to sell his product when the market is
not saturated and prices are higher. The possibility of selling the fish at higher price leads
to higher profit in the intensive systems than in semi-intensive systems in spite of its higher
production cost per kilogram.
On the other hand, surveillance of environmental factors is important to guarantee the
viability of the fish populations and the safety of the product for consumers. Most locations
that are used for extensive and semi-intensive aquaculture are in areas that are recipients of

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Table 11 Annual fish produc-

Years Production (t) Cage size (m3) No. of cages
tion from cages (GAFRD 2014)
1986 726.8 26,820 32
1987 803.2 8032 399
1988 28.6 2857 394
1989 4142.9 214,293 876
1990 4434.1 443,407 1541
1991 1171.7 117,178 543
1992 245.1 24,508 354
1993 339.9 33,992 355
1994 956.7 95,678 509
1995 1977.4 197,748 560
1996 1719.6 171,960 758
1997 210.3 210,163 1009
1998 2855.3 285,490 1294
1999 12,885 1,288,538 3135
2000 16,069 1,603,664 4288
2001 23,716 NA NA
2002 28,166 NA NA
2003 32,059 NA NA
2004 50,403 4304 12,495
2005 19,838.5 NA NA
2006 80,141.3 NA NA
2007 62,276 13,023,896 22,350
2008 69,108 13,996,352 25,054
2009 68,049 5,171,418 24,718
2010 160,288 11,729,850 25,017
2011 216,122 13,581,780 28,171
2012 249,385 18,353,875 37,371
NA no data available

agricultural and rural wastewater and may be contaminated with pesticides and other
harmful compounds. Management of lagoons and ponds therefore requires both technical
and scientific expertise. This knowledge can be supplied by experienced personnel or by
assistance of public services with the necessary scientific and technical background.

Resources and development interaction

Water and land use

Egypt is one of the countries which has limited water resources and that reflects the
quantity and quality of water available for fish farming (CIHEAM 2008). Although
aquaculture is a major industry, the sector is not allowed to use irrigation/Nile water and is
generally dependent on water from agricultural drainage channels and groundwater (Naziri
2011). Poor water quality results in declined fish production, increased production costs for
hatchers, as well as fish farmers, and increases the risk of disease outbreaks which may in-
turn reduces the opportunities for fish export. In addition, poor water quality may have

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Table 12 Economics of semi-intensive and intensive fish farming (Naziri 2011)

Item Semi-intensive (ponds) Intensive (tanks)

% run % total % run % total

cost cost cost cost

N. of units 10 24
Area/unit/(feddan) 2 0.05 (&210 m2)
Total rented area (feddan) 20 1.2
Cost for land rental (EGP/feddan) 25 2.5
Construction cost (EGP/feddan) 350 350
Equipment cost (EGP/feddan) 2500 280,000
Seed (no./feddan) 2000 100,000
Survival rate 30,000 240,000
Price of seed (EGP/1.000 seed) 80 % 80 %
Fish size at harvest (pieces per kg) 50 50
FCR (feed conversion ratio) 4 4
Annual production (t) 1.5 1.5
Annual feed consumption (t) 120 120
Price of feed (EGP/kg) 180 180
Salary permanent worker (EGP/year) 3,3 3.3
Salary permanent worker (EGP/year) 9000 9000
Salary seasonal worker (EGP/year) 40 40
Tilapia price (EGP/kg) 8.75 10
Initial investment (EGP) 112,500 950,000
Construction 62,500 700,000
Equipment 50,000 250,000
Fixed costs (EGP/year) 18,133 2.5 128,555 15.6
Construction depreciation (8 %, 6111 0.8 68,445 8.3
20 years)
Equipment depreciation (8 %, 12,022 1.7 60,110 7.3
5 years)
Running cost (EGP/year) 707,460 100.0 97.5 696.670 100.0 84.4
Land rental 8750 1.2 1.2 875 0.1 0.1
Seed 30,000 4.2 4.1 30,000 4.3 3.6
Feed 594,000 84.0 81.9 594,000 85.3 72.0
Organic fertilizers 3000 0.4 0.4 0 0.0 0.0
Chemical fertilizers 1500 0.2 0.2 0 0.0 0.0
Permanent labor 27,000 3.8 3.7 27,000 3.9 3.3
Seasonal labor 4000 0.6 0.6 2000 0.3 0.2
Fuel/electricity 9000 1.3 1.2 12,000 1.7 1.5
Other (maintenance, license) 3000 0.4 0.4 4000 0.6 0.5
Interest on the running cost (8 %) 27,210 3.8 3.8 26,795 3.8 3.2
Total cost (EGP/year) 725,593 100.0 825,225 100.0
Total income (EGP/year) 1,050,000 1,200,000
Profit (EGP/year) 324,407 374,775

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Table 12 continued

Item Semi-intensive (ponds) Intensive (tanks)

% run % total % run % total

cost cost cost cost

Running cost per kg (EGP/kg) 5.9 5.8

Total cost per kg (EGP/kg) 6.0 6.9
Profit per kg (EGP/kg) 2.7 3.1
Profit per land unit (EGP/feddan) 12,976 149,910

negative impacts on the environment and a negative effect on human health for laborers as
well as consumers (Mur 2014). Nowadays, farmers are requesting freshwater as they reuse
this water for crops. Moreover, farmers argue that drainage water negatively affects quality
of farmed fish owing to the accumulation of pollutants and potential contamination of fish
(FAO 2014).
By law, fish farming is not allowed to be developed on agricultural lands. Salty lands
are temporarily allowed to aquaculture for a specific period and switch to agriculture once
salt is leached and land suits agricultural production (CIHEAM 2008). Farmers usually rent
lands from the government through the General Authority for Fish Resources Development
(Rothuis et al. 2013) and the land rent itself represents 62 % of fixed costs (Macfadyen
et al. 2011). Almost all suitable land for aquaculture has been taken out (limiting horizontal
expansion). Owned land represents 14.5 % of the total area; the remaining areas are either
leased or utilized temporarily for aquaculture (Tables 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).

Fish seed production

The number of fish hatcheries has increased from 14 in 1998 to over 600 of which many
are unlicensed private hatcheries (GAFRD 2013). The production of fry from hatcheries is
about 411 million units of a different species, mainly tilapia, carp and catfish (GAFRD
2014; Tables 13, 14). On the other hand, the supply of mullets, meager fry, and to some
extent sea bream and sea bass, is dependent on collection from the wild. There are several
fry collection stations in seven governorates, where wild caught and fingerlings are col-
lected for distribution. There are also indications of large-scale illegal collection of wild fry
that may affect wild stocks considerably (Rothuis et al. 2013).

Fish feed production

Aquaculture expansion in Egypt has been accompanied by a gradual shift from extensive
and semi-intensive low-input culture systems to more intensive feed-dependent system.
This approach has resulted in an increase in demand for commercial fish feeds (El-Sayed
2014).
Commercial aquaculture feed manufacturing in Egypt started in the early 1990s by the
General Authority for Fisheries Resources Development (GAFRD), with two medium-
scale fish feed mills. By 2000, there were only five governmental mills producing about
20,000 t of pressed fish feed per year. During the past decade, the sector has witnessed an
outstanding expansion, with a significant engagement of the private sector. Recent surveys
indicated that there are nine state-owned fish feed mills and over 50 registered private feed

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Table 13 Production trend of

Year Hatcheries Wildfry
hatcheries and wild fry collection
collection
centers/million unit (2003–2012;
centers
GAFRD 2014)
2003 332 109
2004 354 96
2005 298 69
2006 270 41
2007 306 77
2008 347 77
2009 305 57
2010 400 78
2011 475 63
2012 411 73

Table 14 Hatchery production of fish fingerlings by fish group/million unit 2012 (GAFRD 2014)
Common name Private hatcheries Governmental hatcheries Total

Marine water Freshwater Marine water Freshwater

Gillthead seabream 2.000 – 0.260 – 2.260

European sea bass 1.600 – 0.196 – 1.796
Shrimp nei 5.700 – – – 5.700
Red Tilapia nei – – – – 0.0
Tilapia nei – 191.000 – 51.558 242.558
Sole, common 0.250 – – – 0.250
Common carp – – – 89.200 89.200
Silver carp – – – 23.608 23.608
Grass carp – – – 44.226 44.226
Mullets nei – – – 1.00 1.000
Total 9.550 191.000 0.456 209.592 401.598

mills distributed throughout the country, particularly in the areas of, or close to, the
aquaculture production. Nonetheless, no accurate official data are available on the current
fish feed production. However, the current production has been estimated at about
900,000–1,000,000 t/year. About 80 % of this production is in the form of compressed
feed, while the remaining 20 % are extruded feeds (El-Sayed 2014). The market for
extruded feeds is growing, and several projects are in progress for the establishment of
extruded feed industries (Rothuis et al. 2013). Compressed feeds are generally cheaper
than extruded feeds but they are of lower quality. The average feed conversion ratio (FCR)
of compressed feed is two compared to an FCR of 1:1.5 of extruded feeds. About 95 % of
the produced feeds contain 25 % crude protein (CP), while the remaining 5 % contain 30,
32 and 35 % CP and are generally produced upon the farmer’s request. In addition, few
tonnes of feed containing less than 40 % CP are also produced for larval feeding or marine
fish feeding. About 90 % of fish feeds consumed in Egypt are produced by the private
sector, while only 10 % is produced by state-owned holding companies which own nine
mills producing both animal feeds and fish feeds. These manufacturing plants produce both

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pelleted and extruded pellets for various marine and freshwater fish species. The pro-
duction capacities of these mills range from 5000 to 30,000 metric tonnes per year, with an
average of about 15,000 t per mill. There are also more than 200 small-scale pelleting
units, each with an annual production capacity of 1000–4000 t of fish feeds. These pel-
leting units are generally locally made, and use simple technologies and generally are not
equipped with air driers. The majority of these pelleting units are not registered, and
therefore, their production is generally not recorded or reported. They also offer the service
of pelleting farmers’ feed ingredients. In these cases, fish farmers buy their own ingredi-
ents, prepare their feed formulae and just rent the feed mill to manufacture the feed. This
approach leads to 10–15 % reduction in feed costs for those farmers (El-Sayed 2014).
An estimated 80 % of fish feeds produced by the public sector feed mills is sold through
traders or retailers, compared to only 15–20 % of fish feeds from private sector mills. Fish
feed traders and retailers add around 3–6 % to the cost of fish feeds. Some traders sell feed
on credit, with an additional cost of around 2–4 % (El-Sayed 2014). Rapid increase in the
cost of fish feed is one of the main constrains faced by the fish feed industry and farmers. In
2011, imports accounted for 99 % of soybean cake (988,000 t), 97 % of soybean seeds
(1,116,000 t) and 50 % (7,048,000 t) of maize used or consumed in Egypt. More than
60 % of raw materials for fish feed to be imported in Egypt. Increasing world market prices
of raw materials resulted in an increase of fish prices by 200–250 % over the last
6–7 years. In 2012, feed prices increased from 450 to 550 Euro/MT for the feed containing
32 % protein. These prices will seriously affect the profitability of the farmers (Macfadyen
et al. 2011; Rothuis et al. 2013; El-Sayed 2014).

Labor

Aquaculture does not only contribute to national GDP and food security, but it is also
important to diversify the national economy and to generate employment opportunities
(Naziri 2011). The rapid development in aquaculture has created a large number of jobs as
farm technicians and skilled labors. Furthermore, new industries and financial services in
support of aquaculture are also providing employment opportunities. The expansion of
aquaculture has succeeded in reducing and stabilizing the price of fish in Egypt allowing
accessibility to the poorer rural population to healthy and affordable animal protein (FAO
2010). Labor costs represent approximately 8 % of operational costs (Macfadyen et al.
2011). Almost 580,000 people engaged in the aquaculture sector in Egypt, representing
more people employed in the sector than all the other countries of Africa combined (FAO
2014).

Energy usage

Many farms are not connected to the electricity grid and are prevented from installing
electricity on rented land. Hence, the cost incurred for the generation of power is more
because of the need to use generators and/or diesel pumps. Power/fuel costs have risen in
recent years and are periodically unavailable in some locations. Fuel and power constitute
about 3 % of total production costs (Macfadyen et al. 2011). They are used in all the
processes of the aquaculture system including feed raw material production, feed manu-
facturing, hatchery, grow-out fish cultivation and transportation of materials (Samuel-Fitwi
et al. 2013). Consequently, due to the increased production through aquaculture in the
country, the energy usage increased as well by 25.9 % from 2008 till 2011 (CAPMAS
2014). Improving the efficiency of used energy in this industry is becoming a must in order

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to overcome the current energy crisis in the country. Moreover, future studies should
investigate the possibility of utilizing renewable energy as an alternative to conventional
one in the different processes of the aquaculture industry.

Market and trade

The marketing system for fish is simple but efficient. The market is controlled by a limited
number of large wholesalers who determine the market price mainly in response to sup-
plies and demand. Farmers are free to sell their products either through wholesalers or
directly to retailers. In all major cities, there is usually an official wholesale market where
producers can bring their product, and there fish are auctioned daily (El-Gayar 2003).
Fish traders/wholesalers are typically individuals working alone but employing few
labors to load and unload the fish. The traders/wholesalers play a key role in providing
finance to many of the fish farmers. The earning made by trader/wholesalers is generated
from a sales commission, usually between 3 and 6 % on the sales of fish, which is paid to
them by the fish farmers. There are two main types of farmed fish retailers in Egypt. The
first group engages in ‘‘informal’’ street sales, which take place usually by individual
operators who purchase fish from wholesale markets or traders, and then set up shop by the
roadside to sell their product. The second group is more formalized, with sales taking place
from their retail shop and has storage facility to store the left out fish and can be sold later
facilities (Macfadyen et al. 2011). At the retail level, aquaculture products are sold
alongside wild caught products. Farmed fish are considered to be inferior in quality by
most consumers although they are usually unable to differentiate it from wild caught fish of
the same species. There are currently no regulations requiring the origin of fish to be
identified by the retailers and whether they are farmed or captured fish (FAO 2010).
Aquaculture in Egypt exhibits a strongly seasonal pattern, due to seasonal temperature
variations affecting fish growth and survival (e.g., tilapia), and due to the reliance on wild
fry for marine species, which are available only on a seasonal basis (e.g., mullet).
Accordingly, most of the annual production from farms arrives on the market within a short
period. Most fish produced in Egypt are landed, distributed and consumed in fresh form.
The processing industry is still in its infant phase (Naziri 2011).
Fish import fills the gap between national production and consumption (390,605 t in
2010, 182,222 t in 2011 and 335,000 t in 2012). Foreign exchange rate influences fish
importation. Only a modest quantity of marine capture fishery is exported (9489 t in 2011
increasing to 15,810 t in 2012). Most of the exports are from Mediterranean. In spite of its
significant growth in production, Egypt is not self sufficient and it is a net importer of fish
products. Between 1992 and 2007, imports increased by 95 % in quantity to 259,000 t and
it reached 335,000 t during 2012 (Table 15), reflecting the strong growth in annual per
capita consumption which is from 8.5 to 15.5 kg during the same period (GAFRD 2009
and GAFRD 2012).
On the other hand, Egypt is unable to export fishery products to the European Union,
since it has not yet complied with the requirements of European Council Directive 91/493/
EEC in respect of ‘‘Health conditions for the production and placing on the market of
fishery products’’. Egypt has lost access to the EU market for fishery products in October
1998, when the European Union harmonized health conditions for imported fishery
products based on the requirements of the directive.

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Table 15 Quantities of fish import and export in tone during the period from 2008 to 2012 (GAFRD 2012)
Fishery resources 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Local production 1,067,630 1,092,888 1,304,794 1,362,174 1,371,975

Imports 136,807 135,523 256,813 182,222 335,000
Exports 6727 7594 10,596 9489 15,810
Available for consumption 1,197,710 1,220,817 1,551,011 1,534,907 1,691,165

Institutional, policy and legal context governing aquaculture in Egypt

The ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation has overall responsibility for managing
the fisheries and aquaculture sector. Implementation of policy and management has been
delegated to the General Authority for Fish Resources Development (GAFRD) since 1983,
when the Presidential Decree 90/183 articulated the power and duties of GAFRD (FAO
2010).
GAFRD, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, is the
agency responsible for all planning and control activities related to fish production and the
competent authority in charge of a vice minister and, accordingly, is authorized to issue
relevant fisheries and aquaculture decrees and regulations (Macfadyen et al. 2011). The
key institutions which have a bearing on the aquaculture sector in Egypt are presented in
Table 16, along with their main function and area of responsibility/control over the sector.
GAFRD (2005) laid down a policy for the development of the fisheries and aquaculture
sector in Egypt until 2017. The overall aim of the policy is (1) to increase the return on fish
resources through environmentally compatible systems, (2) to reach annual production of
1.5 million ton (an annual per capita of local fish production which amounts to 16.5 kg) by
2017 so as to maintain per capita of fish production given the growing population, (3) to
improve fish products from various sources to be compatible with international require-
ments and (4) to support marine aquaculture (Goulding and Kamel 2013).

Table 16 Key institutions of relevance to the aquaculture sector, and their role/influence (Macfadyen et al.
2011)
Institution Key function and responsibility related to
aquaculture

Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation
(MOALR)
General Authority for Fisheries Development
(GAFRD)
Ministry of Defense
Central laboratory for Aquaculture Research
(CLAR)
National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries
(NIOF) and various universities under the
Ministry of Higher Education
World Fish Center
Overall management of the sector, setting policy,
legislation (decrees, laws, regulation)
Licensing of all fish farms and hatcheries, leasing of
land within 200 m of lakes, data collection,
extension/training, capture of wild fry, designation
of suitable aquaculture areas, running of
government hatcheries and feed mills
Approval of cage farming at sea
Fisheries research and extension

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Consequently, GAFRD planned two-sided strategy aiming to increase the productivity

of freshwater aquaculture operations, while encouraging investment in marine aquaculture.
Due to the limited fresh water resources, the country policies now is supporting marine
aquaculture of fish such as groupers, mullets, meagers, perches and soles and invertebrates
such as shrimps, sea cucumbers and other shellfish species (Dighiesh 2014).
Law No. 124/1983 on fishing, aquatic life and regulation of fish farms is the main body
of legislation on fisheries. The act is administered by GAFRD, and it contains a number of
provisions on aquaculture (FAO 2010). The overall legal framework within which the
aquaculture sector works is quite complex as can be seen from Table 17. All these laws
grapple with environmental concerns over the quality and quantity of resources available to
different users (Nugent 2009). Now the government affords many of national programs
that bind between the academic research and field applications to enhance the development
of aquaculture and rewrite new laws and legislation that can help investors more than in the
past (Dighiesh 2014). To get a license, fish farmers have to obtain the approval of the
Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) after submitting an Environmental
impact Assessment (EIA) study, in accordance with the main environment legislation Law
No. 4/1994, amended by Law No. 9/2009, and its executive regulation (Prime Ministerial
Decree No. 338/1995) amended by Prime Ministerial Decree No. 1741/2005. Fish farms
also have to abide by conditions related to discharge of water as set out in Law No. 4/1994
(Goulding and Kamel 2013). In practice, EIA is rarely conducted for aquaculture activities.

Table 17 Status governing aquaculture in Egypt

Environmental law Date Objectives Decree regulations Implementing
agency

Low 12 (and its 1984 Main legislation for Has recently been revised and NMRI
supplementary irrigation and approved by the Parliament
law 213/1994 drainage
Law No. 4 on 1994 Establishment of Decree No. 338 of 1995 (Executive MoEA; EEAA
Environment EEAA and Regulation including Prime
Environmental Minister Decree No. 1741 of
Protection 2005)
Law No. 102 on 1983 Designation and Decrees designating sites MoEA; EEAA
Natural management of
Protectorates natural
protectorates
Law No. 124 on 1983 Management and MALR
Fisheries protection of
fisheries and
marine animals
Law No. 48 on 1982 Control of pollution Decree No. 8 of 1983 (standards for MWRI
Protection of of surface waters wastewater discharges to surface
Nile and its waters)
Waterways
Law No. 137 on 1981 Control of work place Ministry of
Labor safety and Manpower
environment and
Immigration
Low 92/1962 on 1982 Control of Decree 9/1989 MHUNC
wastewater wastewater
discharge discharge into
public sewers

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The vast majority of these are activities operating in fresh/brackish water environments,
and they continue to be regulated by the ‘‘older’’ legal frameworks of the various sectoral
ministries, coordinated to some degree by GAFRD. EIA is not required before a farmer
begins aquaculture production. The only situation, which may become more frequent if
open sea aquaculture develops. The EIA is required in the marine environment (coastline
and open marine waters) where the established rules for inland waters do not apply and the
Environmental Law administered by the EEAA holds sway (Nugent 2009).

Future development potentials

Technical innovations

Almost all the Egyptian aquaculture farms utilize standard farming techniques based on
low technology levels, leading to a low profitability of the enterprises. A number of
technical innovations and improvements can be considered for increasing the productivity
of aquaculture in Egypt. They may offer a promising solution to water and land use
conflicts, energy consumption, reliable source of fish fry and quality of fish fry and fish
feed. Increased investment in technological innovation and transfer will be needed in seven
interrelated areas.

Water quality According to Rothuis et al. (2013), the present average productivity in
semi-intensive pond-based tilapia farming is approximately 7 t/ha/year. However, pro-
duction of 12–15 t/ha/year is possible if farmers adopt recently developed technologies for
fish culture practice. Aeration allows higher stocking rates, and double cropping is feasible
with bigger fingerlings in spring. Aeration and proper mixing enable biofloc production in
tilapia ponds. Bioflocs are tiny aggregates of active sludge microbes that clean the water,
and meantime these microbial biomass (microbial protein) can be directly consumed by
tilapia as feed. This will improve nitrogen retention significantly; moreover, it will improve
the water quality and reduce feed costs.

Disease control Combination of new technologies (e.g., diagnostic technologies, vacci-

nes) and wider application of best management practices is used to combat disease
problems.

Fry quality Significant improvements in terms of growth rate and survival can be realized
through the utilization of improved tilapia strains. Also, the application of specific on-
farming breeding programs will result in high-quality fry with improved production per-
formance. The YY ‘‘super’’ male technology offers certain advantages, such as higher
degree of males, over the currently used sex reversal technique using methyl-testosterone.
Furthermore, hormone treatment might involve risks associated with improper use (envi-
ronmental as well as human health risks) and negative market acceptance (Rothuis et al.
2013). On the other side, the current quality of the fingerlings produced by the hatcheries
can be improved, introducing technologies’ innovation in the hatchery management
(thermo foto period control, green technology, swim bladder control and selection) in order
to make them more economically attractive for farmers.

Improve capacity for production of high-quality feeds Quality control and inspection
procedures should be put in place to improve feed quality. Inspection should include

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regular testing of feed ingredients and finished feeds, including proximate analysis and
testing for contaminants such as mycotoxins. More feed mills should operate their own
analytical laboratories, so they can screen ingredients and verify that finished feeds meet
expected specifications (El-Sayed 2014).
Furthermore, extruded feeds are known to improve growth and feed efficiency through
higher nutrient digestibility. In addition, the floating pelleted feed allows easy management
and reduces feed loss. However, the majority of farmers are not aware of these benefits.
Most farmers procure feed based on the price per kg of feed instead of cost of feed/kg
tilapia produced. While, pelleted feed is much cheaper per kg, the extruded feed coverts
much more efficient into kg tilapia and thus has lowest cost of production. For example,
there is a saving of 1.2 L.E./kg tilapia when switching to extruded feed (Rothuis et al.
2013).
Researchers in The WorldFish Center, Abu Hammad, Abbassa, Egypt, carried out a
successful field trial on replacement of fishmeal with locally produced fish meal and
soybean meal in diets for Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) in pre-fertilized ponds.
They obtained results which demonstrated clearly a significant increase in tilapia pro-
duction from the ponds that were fed with soybean-based diets in comparison with those
fed with the commercial feed containing fishmeal as the sole animal protein source. Feed
conversion ratios (FCR) from the trial were very encouraging and demonstrated very
strongly the significant improvement of the FCR values for the soybean-based diets over
that for the commercial fishmeal-based diet (Shaheen et al. 2013).

Alternative production system A combination of aquaculture (raising fish in a controlled

environment) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil, providing the nutrients to the
plants mixed into the water fed to the plants) called aquaponics is a way forward to utilize
available land and water efficiently. Aquaponics is growing woods in the desert and
yielding harvests in the city. In practice, Nile tilapia is the most popular fish chosen for this
system. In Egypt, few trials have been experienced. One of these trials was transferred
from Virgin Islands University and brought the technique to Egypt, where the country’s
first commercial aquaponics farm started. Water circulates through tanks full of Nile
tilapia, then the fish-waste laden water was treated and filtered and then flows over through
trays where vegetables grow, and eventually out to irrigate the olive trees that line the farm
(Shaheen et al. 2013).
Another promising aquaculture technique of fish farming that can be used in Egypt is
recirculation aquaculture system (RAS). In RAS, fish is cultured under fully controlled
environmental conditions independent of their natural environment. RAS are land-based
fish production systems in which water from the rearing tanks is reused after mechanical
and biological purification to reduce water and energy consumption and to reduce emission
to the environment (Schneider et al. 2010). Since water is reused, the water volume
requirements in RAS are only about 20 % of what conventional open pond culture
demands. They offer a promising solution to water use conflicts, water quality and waste
disposal. These concerns will continue to intensify in the future as water demand for a
variety of uses escalates (Bahnasawy et al. 2009). RAS are particularly useful in areas
where land and water are expensive and not readily available. They require relatively small
amounts of land and water. They can be located close to large markets and thereby reduce
hauling distances and transportation costs. Moreover, RAS can use municipal water sup-
plies (after dechlorination) and discharge waste into sanitary sewer system (Brazil 2006).

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Enlarging and/or involving new production areas and species for aquaculture is the
concern for the development of marine aquaculture, i.e., coastal pond culture and cage
culture in the Red Sea or brackish water lakes (Fayoum), and the development of new
species such as meager. Furthermore, the use of brackish ground water for the integrated
production of fish and salt tolerant crops is another prerequisite of the sector. At Wadi El
Natroun in El Beheira Governorate, an experimental farm is growing sea bass, sea bream
and red tilapia, using saline underground water. The saline fish farm effluent is used to
develop an integrated aquaculture horticulture system. Currently, salt-tolerant species
(Samphrie Salicorina europaeae), Mediterranean salt bush (Atriplex halimus) and sea blite
(Suaeda vermiculata) are tested (van der Heijden et al. 2012).

Extended production period Due to the cold winter months, most tilapia farmers harvest
their ponds between September and November. The large supply of fish in these months
results in low prices. If year-round production would be possible, farmers can adjust their
production cycle (stocking and harvest) to the market needs. The first step could be to
overcome mass mortality of the fish kept throughout the winter months, by bringing the
fish in optimal condition before the temperature starts to drop. This could be done by
feeding specific ‘‘overwintering feeds’’ rich in energy and essential micronutrients. Other
more experimental technologies to make year-round production possible include the use of
(store) thermal underground water, greenhouses (for intensive tank culture) and RAS
(Rothuis et al. 2013).

Technical transfer and experience exchange Egypt is a leader in freshwater aquaculture,

while Vietnam is very developed in mariculture. The two countries are an ideal match (for
technical transfer) as both shares a similar economic and offer solutions that do not rely on
high technology. While Egypt has extensive experience in freshwater pond culture and
tilapia breeding, Vietnam has over two decades of experience in mariculture (Shaheen
et al. 2013).
Two improved breeds of Nile tilapia that grow up to 30 % faster are helping farmers in
West Africa and Egypt to increase the productivity of their fish farms. These developments
are the result of breeding programs in Ghana and Egypt by World Fish and partners to
improve two strains of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), an economically important fish
that is native to much of Africa (Ibrahim et al. 2012). The Akosombo strain of Nile tilapia
grows about 30 % faster than other farmed tilapia currently being cultured, enabling fish
farmers to harvest them after 6 months instead of the usual 8 months needed for the
nonimproved stock. The Akosombo strain, which also has a higher survival rate, continues
to attract the attention of fish farmers and hatchery managers across the Volta Basin
(Shaheen et al. 2013).
A case study on developing financially viable recirculation aquaculture system for
tilapia production in Egypt was funded by the Netherlands. Twenty-four tanks
(3 9 8 9 1 m) were modified to match the recirculation system requirements. The tanks
were arranged in two rows, each row having an irrigation channel with a drain channel in
the middle. Sufficient space was made available alongside the fish tank to build a solid
waste removal tank. A separate concrete pond was used to form the base for a trickle filter.
The solid waste removal tank was connected to a 2 9 2 m square, concrete tank where the
water was then pumped to the top of the trickle down filter (Radwan and Leschen 2011).
It would also need for creating new partnerships with foreign research institutes and
aquaculture establishments in order to upgrade the national aquaculture and the relative

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research to the current international standards. For instance, the European Union programs
on research offer great opportunities for creating cooperation opportunities that would lead
to new partnerships and the strengthening of the research methodologies of the Egyptian
institutes and researchers on aquaculture.

Summary and conclusions

Fish is a basic component of the traditional Egyptian diet and an important source of low-
cost animal protein. Recently, Egypt witnessed a breakthrough in the field of fish farming,
resulting in an industry that occupies ninth position worldwide and number one in Africa.
Furthermore, 74 % of the total national production is attributed to aquaculture. Beside this
tremendous development in aquaculture sector in Egypt, there are some major constrains
and challenges facing by aquaculture industry. The future of aquaculture growth in Egypt
greatly depends upon resolving these problems. By reviewing the current status of
Egyptian aquaculture, it was found that major problems in this sector are related to
resource use conflicts (water and land), energy consumption, reliable source of fish fry and
quality of fish fry, and changes in the prices of main raw materials used in fish feed
industry. Consequently, there are many opportunities for future development and
improvement. Intensification of the existing production systems either earthen ponds or
intensive fish farms is a must to increase production from existing resources. Furthermore,
the marine aquaculture and the integrated aquaculture and agriculture through the use of
ground water should be developed in order to overcome the present and future anticipated
limitations of fresh water and brackish water. Reducing the amount of imported raw
materials (corn and soya) is another important thrust area to be taken care. Improvement of
local raw material to be used in fish feed formulation is also highly recommended. On the
other hand, the development of local and external trade of aquaculture products is needed.
At the same time, focus should be addressed toward reducing the impact of aquaculture
industry on climate change and fossil fuels depletion by investigating how to reduce energy
use through energy conservation, proper energy management in feed manufacturing, and
introduce possible renewable energy approaches in aquaculture industry. In addition,
reduction in environmental impacts of aquaculture on the surrounding water bodies has to
be considered by producers for further sustainability of the business. Strengthening the
legal and policy environment for fish production from aquaculture is required. The study
also highlighted the necessity for carrying out an EIA study before implementing inland
aquaculture projects.

Acknowledgments We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Mohamed Z. Baromah of the National Institute of

Oceanography and Fisheries, for his help with obtaining information.

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