MANAGEMENT, CONCLUSIONS, REFERENCES

MANAGEMENT

Aquaculture and fisheries activities in Egypt are regulated by the Fisheries Law No. 124/1983. The sector is administered by the General Authority for Fisheries Resources Development (GAFRD), established by Presidential Decree No. 190/1983, under the Ministry of Agriculture.

According to Article 18 of the above law, fish fry may not be collected or removed from the sea, lakes or other water bodies except with an official permit issued by GAFRD. The violation of Article 18 may provide grounds for imprisonment of 3–6 months or a fine up approximately US$90. The sentence is more severe in case of repeat violations.
Application of the law somewhat guarantees control of the activity and rational utilization of the resources. The increase in illegal seed fishing indicates a weakness in enforcement which is divided between the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense. The Coast Guard (Ministry of Defense) is in charge of enforcing the law in coastal areas while the Aquatic Police covers other water bodies.

CONCLUSIONS

• Collection of wild mullet seed for aquaculture and restocking of lakes is an old practice known for many decades in Egypt and other Mediterranean countries. • Flathead and thinlip grey mullet are the most important aquaculture species.

 

 

• Egypt is the major producer of cultured mullet with a production 156 400 tonnes in 2005.
• In most producing countries, mullet aquaculture depends exclusively on wild seed.
• Hatchery production of mullet seed is carried out in some countries, but its commercial production in Egypt has proven not to be economically viable. • Wild fry fisheries are legally managed in most of the countries, and this activity is also supervised in Egypt by the competent authorities.
• Illegal wild seed fisheries in Egypt result in resource management problems. • Demand for mullet seed increased greatly in Egypt during the last ten years as a result of the expansion of aquaculture.
• The official recorded numbers of wild-caught mullet seed in Egypt decreased during the last four years, at the same time that production of cultured mullet has increased.
• Increase in the price of mullet seed resulted in more rational utilization of the resources and a reduction in handling losses.
• The fast growing activity of fishing ripe flathead grey mullet females for roe production in many countries may affect the future of the wild stocks.
• Mullet is an important cash crop for the aquaculture industry in Egypt.
• There is no reliable scientific information to ensure proper management of the mullet seed fisheries in Egypt.
• The present Egyptian legislation is considered adequate; however, enforcement may not be sufficient to control the fishery.
• Dependence on wild seed does not provide for long-term planning of the sector and hatchery production of mullet seed may be necessary.
• The government may adopt a policy of subsidizing hatchery production of mullet seed followed by a ban on wild seed fisheries to encourage hatchery development.

REFERENCES

Basurco, B. & Lovatelli, A. 2003. The aquaculture situation in the Mediterranean Sea, Prediction for the future. Ocean Dacs-Africa Marine Science. Oceanography-Fishery Miscellaneous.
Cardona, L. 2006. Habitat selection by grey mullets (Osteichthyes: Mugilidae) in Mediterranean estuaries: The role of salinity. Scientia Marina, 70(3): 433–455. Eisawy, A.M. & El-Bolok, A. 1975. Status of aquaculture in the Arab Republic of Egypt. CIFA Tech. Pap., (4. Suppl. 1).
El-Zarka, S. & Kamel, F. 1965. Mullet fry transplantation and its contribution to the fishery of the inland brackish lakes in Egypt, U.A.R. Proc. Con. Fish Counc. Medit., 8: 209–226.
El-Zarka, S., El-Maghraby, A.M. & Abdel-Hamid, K.H. 1970. Studies on the distribution, growth and abundance of migrating fry and juvenile of mullet in a brackish coastal water lake (Edku) in the U.A.R. Stud. Rev. Gen. Coun. Mediterr., 46 p.
Eschmeyer, W.N., Herald, E.S. & Hammann, H. 1983. A field guide to Pacific coast fish of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, USA. 336 p.
Faouzi, H. 1936. Successful stocking of Lake Qarun with mullets (Mugil cephalus L.) and (M. capito Cuv & Val.) from the Mediterranean Sea. Int. Rev. Ges. Hydrobiology, 33(516): 434–439.
FAO. 1973. FAO Species Identification Sheet for Fishery Purposes. Mediterranean and Black Sea, Fishing area 37. FAO, Rome.
General Authority for Fish Resources Development. 2006. The 2005 Statistics Yearbook, Ministry of Agriculture Publications. Egypt.
Harrison, I.J. 1999. “Mugilidae” in FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. The living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific, Vol. 4. Bony Fishes, Part 2, (Mugilidae to Carangidae), edited by K. Carpenter and V. H. Neim. Rome: FAO.
Harrison, I.J. & Senou, H. 1997. Order Mugiliformes. Mugilidae. Mullets. p. 2069–2108. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 4. Bony fishes part 2 (Mugilidae to Carangidae). FAO, Rome.
Kleijn, L.K. 1988. Release of mullet fry in Fayoum Governorate, Egypt. Final Report. Netherland Institute for Fishery Investigation.
Koutrakis, E.T. 2004. Temporal occurrence and size distribution of grey mullet juveniles (Pisces, Mugilidae) in the estuarine systems of the Strymonikos Gulf (Greece). J. Appl. Ichthyol. 20, 76–78.
Landoli, C. 2000. Marine Fish Farming in Italy. In Muir J. and Basurco B. (eds). Mediterranean offshore mariculture. Zaragoza: CIHEAM-IAMZ, 2000. p. 33
Maitland, P.S. & Campbell, R.N. 1992. Freshwater fishes of the British Isles. HarperCollins Publishers, London. 368 p.
Nelson, J.S. 1984. Fishes of the world. 2nd edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. Nelson, J.S. 1994. Fishes of the World. Third edition. John Wiley and Sons, INC. N. York, ISBN 0-471-5713-1.
Rochard, E. & Elie, P. 1994. La macrofaune aquatique de l’estuaire de la Gironde. Contribution au liv e blanc de L’Agence de l’Eau Adour Garonne. p. 1–56. In Mauvais J. L. and Guillard, J.F. (eds.) E tat des connaissances sur l’estuaire de la Gironde. Agence de l’Eau Adour-Garonne, Bordeaux, France, 115 p.
Rossi, R. 1986. Occurrence, abundance and growth of fish fry in Scardovari Bay, a nursery ground of the Po River delta (Italy). Arch. Oceanogr. Limnol., 20, 259–280.
Sadek, S. & Mires, D. 2000. Capture of wild finfish fry in Mediterranean coastal areas and possible impact on aquaculture development and marine genetic resources. The Israeli Journal of Aquaculture - Bamidgeh, 52(2): 77–88.
Saleh, M.A. 1991. Rearing of Mugilidae. A study on low salinity tolerance by thinlip grey mullet (Liza ramada Risso, 1826). In the proceeding of the FAO Workshop on Diversification of Aquaculture Production, Valetta, 1–6 July 1991.
Saleh, M.A. 2006. Mugil cephalus, Cultured Aquatic Species Information Program. Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service (FIRI), FAO.
Saleh, M.A. & Salem, A.M. 2005. National Aquaculture Sector Overview-Egypt, FAO Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service (FIRI).
Smith, M.M. & Smith, J.L.B. 1986. “Mugilidae” in Smith’s Sea Fisheries, edited by M.M. Smith and P. C. Heemstra. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Suloma, A. & Ogata, H.Y. 2006. Future of Rice-Fish Culture, Desert Aquaculture and Feed Development in Africa: The Case of Egypt as the Leading Country in Africa. JARQ, 40(4): 351–360.
Virgona, J. 1995. Sea mullet. NSW Fisheries Fishnote. DF/49, 4 p.
Wimpenny, R.S. & Faouzi, H. 1935. The breeding of the grey mullet, L. ramada, in Lake Quarun, Egypt. Nature Lond., 135: 1041.
Wonham, M.J., Carlton, J.T., Ruiz, G.M. & Smith, L.D. 2000. Fish and Ships: Relating dispersal frequency to success in biological invasions. Marine Biology 136, 1111–1121. Yeh, S.P. 1998. Marine fish seed industry in Taiwan. p. 154–167. In Proceedings of the
Workshop on Offshore Technologies for Aquaculture, 13–16 October 1998. Technion, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Haifa, Israel.