3.6 Interactions among aquaculture, capture fisheries and the environment in coastal lagoon management

3.6.1 Interactions between commercial and recreational fisheries

There are only a few individuals engaging in recreational fishing near Boughazes and a licence is required.

3.6.2 Interactions among different fishers groups and conflicts between fishers/fish farmers and public or private stakeholders

There have always been complaints from fishers that fish farms pollute water, reduce the free fishing areas and the productivity in the lake by reclamation and collection of fish fry to stock their farms. Land reclamation for either agriculture or aquaculture is in conflict with fish production development from the lake. Aquaculture activities reduced the water volume of the lake andled to illegal fry collection for stocking fish farms. Also, fish farms discharge huge amounts of nutrients that cause eutrophication and excessive plant growing in the lake.
Land reclamation along the shores of the delta coastal lagoons is causing serious conflicts between poor fishers and wealthy aquaculture investors. Those investors employ armored guardsmen to protect their “hoshas” (aquaculture ponds inside the lagoon) and other illegal fry collecting devices used to stock their farms. The Manzala lagoon for example lost about 23 percent of its area in the last 15 years as a result of land reclamation.

It is estimated that 22 000 fishers work in the lagoon using 7 000 boats, and employing an additional 12 000 people. Lagoon Burullus, the second largest of delta lagoons, sustains the livelihoods of about 20 000 fishers and their families (GAFRD, 2009), though Shaltout and Khalil (2005) estimated that the population dependent solely on the Burullus lagoon for their livelihoods is closer to 50 000 fishers. The Edku lagoon supports the living of about 150 000 people as their primary source of livelihood. These fishers suffer from decreased fish catch, low 4
income and unemployment. The catch from these lakes is steadily increasing annually, but this is due mainly to increased fishing efforts (number of fishers and boats), not to increased productivity.
On the other hand, supporters of aquaculture say that this sector provides jobs and experience for thousands of young graduates, who have the ability to deal with technology used in fish farms and hatcheries. GAFRD (2009) reported the presence of about 114 000 ha of aquaculture areas and about 500 freshwater fish hatcheries in Egypt. Each large farm and each hatchery employs at least one university graduate to deal with technical issues of fish culture (fertilization, hormone treatment, feeding schedule, disease control and treatment, water quality monitoring, harvesting and marketing). Other young graduates prefer to begin with their own aquaculture business encouraged by loans from Social Fund Banks at low interest rates. Aquaculture also increased fish production, which is a cheap protein source for the poor people. In addition, aquaculture services (equipment sale and maintenance, feed manufacturing, consultancy and drug trade) gained a lot of investments and afforded jobs for large cross-sections of people.

3.6.3 Competition for space

Most aquaculture facilities are located at the southern parts of the lagoons near drainage freshwater sources. Fish farmers try all the time to expand their farm areas by filling new areas inside the lagoons. Government authorities took many measures to stop infringement on lagoon shores and to control “hoshas”. The implementation of the rules is slow and response is weak.

3.6.4 Product interaction on the market

Few years ago, consumers preferred fresh products from capture fishery (with relatively higher prices in the market), but recently they cannot differentiate between products from different sources. As aquaculture products are sold fresh and sometimes alive they are now mostly preferred by consumers. Fish are sold in fish markets without label or processing. Some large supermarkets sell fresh fish, also without any packing nor labels.

3.6.5 Environmental effects of aquaculture and capture fisheries on biodiversity conservation

Information about the impact of aquaculture on the lagoon environment in Egypt is scarce and scattered. Almost all drain water from fish farms and hatcheries is released into the environment without any treatment. It is estimated that there are about 400 tilapia hatcheries close to the Burullus and Manzala lagoons, which mainly produce monosex tilapias using hormonized feed (17-?-testosterone). Water from these hatcheries carries uneaten hormone-added feed and metabolites to the environment. Though the exact impact of this hormone on wild fish population is not clearly acknowledged yet, there is evidence that tilapia production in the Burullus lagoon has significantly decreased during the last six years (GAFRD Yearbook 2) in spite of the noticed increase in other freshwater fish species (Fig. 6). Whether this observation is related to hormone release or not needs detailed and intense studies. This point needs a special programme to monitor, detect and propose solutions.
Drain water from fish farms and hatcheries carries considerable amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous and other organic compounds. The release of these nutrients into the lagoon environment causes eutrophication leading to hypoxia, the spread of aquatic plants resulting in decrease of free fishing areas, and severe problems in drinking water treatment plants. However, the input of these nutrients into the lagoons increases productivity and helps the flourishing of phytoplankton and zooplankton, the primary food for most fish fry and juveniles. Aquatic plants act as refuge for migrating birds, nursery for young fish and clarify the water from heavy metals and pesticides. Management and control of the flow and release of these nutrients into lagoons is necessary and needs further detailed studies.

Figure 6. Fish catch from Burullus lagoon (1999–2009)
Source: GAFRD Year Book Statistics (1999–2009)
Since Egypt has diverse aquatic systems with various species, few trials were carried out to introduce new species into Egypt. The first trial was performed fifty years ago, with the introduction of several carp species (grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella, silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and common carp, Cyprinus carpio) from Hungary, China and other countries. The purpose was to provide fast growing cheap fish to the people, control aquatic weeds that gather around dams, bridges and barrages and help rice growers to increase their income. So far, only poor people in rural areas accept the taste of these fish. There was a stock enhancement programme in Egyptian fishery resources from 2004 to 2007, in which about 6 million grass carp fry were released to freshwater parts of Burullus, Edku and Maryout lagoons (Abdel Rahman, 2009). The production of carps reached about 130 000 tonnes in 2009 (80 percent of it from freshwater aquaculture and the rest from Nile river and freshwater lakes, GAFRD, 2009). There are no indications at present that these fish caused any environmental problems in Egyptian waters (Abdel Rahman, 2008).
On the contrary, ten years ago, a private aquaculture company introduced the freshwater crayfish, Procamparus clarkia, to Egypt from abroad. After the investors recognized that this crustacean was not accepted by Egyptians, they just released it into the wild. This species was able to grow and reproduce in the River Nile and its tributaries and invaded all the freshwater bodies from Qena (south) to the northern coastal lakes. It caused serious environmental problems such as weakening of river and canals banks by its burrowing behaviour, which includes voracious feeding on tilapia nests, but it can be used to exterminate belharzia. Now scientists and authorities are trying to find methods to eradicate it (Khalil and Selim, 2011). The last trial started in 2011 with the import of the shrimp Penaeus indicus from Thailand. Strict measures were taken to prevent introducing any viral or bacterial disease. The experimental trial just started in Deeba Triangular (see section 2), inside Manzala lagoon, which is the only site for mariculture in Egypt. The trial cannot be yet evaluated (author, personal communication).

3.6.6 Juveniles/spat collection in the wild for culture and/or restocking purposes 

The production of large quantities of fish from aquaculture mainly depends on the availability of fry and feed ingredients. The grey mullet aquaculture industry in Egypt totally relies on fry collection from the wild. In 2007, GAFRD reported that about 75 million of mullet fry were (officially) collected from the wild, representing about 99 percent of total marine fish fry collected at sea. This number is greatly underestimated, especially when these data are compared with the production biomass. If the smuggling business of mullet fry, loss during transportation in unequipped trucks and mortality due to acclimatization to brackish water and freshwater are considered, the number may be expected to reach around 400 million fry annually or even higher.
In addition, there is an old traditional practice to collect ripe mullet females during their spawning migration from lagoons to the sea to collect the egg roe (Batarekh) which is salted, dried and sold as high priced delicatessen in local and European markets. In the Bardawil lagoon, ripe mullet females (mainly M. cephalus) caught for Batarekh (processed egg roe) production is recorded at an average of 60 tonnes per year from a total production of 1 000 tonnes (author, personal communication). Egg roe from this lagoon has the highest quality and is sold at high prices. Batarekh is produced also from cultured Liza ramada in large quantities in winter and sold in the local market.
Marine fish fry for aquaculture are collected by licensed fishers under the supervision of GAFRD. GAFRD will only supply fry to properly licensed fish farms. The quantity of fry supplied through this channel has been relatively consistent over the last 15 years ranging from 90 to 120 million fry per year without a clear trend. Flathead grey mullet Mugil cephalus constitutes about 12– 15 percent of the fry catch, whereas Liza ramada constitutes about 70–80 percent of the catch with a few hundred thousand of other marine fish as the seheli mullet, meagre, gilthead seabream and seabass. With the increasing demand for marine fish fry and restrictions on official supply, the black market of fry smuggling has flourished. It is very difficult to estimate the real number of fry caught and marketed illegally. Sadek (2001) estimated that the number of mullet fry needed for the production of 120 000 tonnes of market size fish is in the range of 500 million fry. This figure is almost five times greater than the recorded official trade.
As far as fish feed is concerned, most ingredients used in fish feed manufacturing in Egypt are agricultural wastes. These include cottonseed, rice bran, wheat bran, chicken industry wastes and macaroni industry wastes. Fish meal and fish oil are used in limited quantities in fish feeds due to their high prices and to the low nutritional requirements of tilapias, but still constituting a great obstacle for the development of this sector. Recent trends toward intensification of fish culture in Egypt increased the demand for formulated diets and consequently the pressure on global demand for fishmeal and fish oil.

3.6.7 Impact of Ichthyophagous birds

Many migratory birds visit Egypt from late autumn up to the end of winter seasons. This kind of migration cannot be controlled, as it is difficult to put these birds in quarantine or take any hygienic measures on their arrival to the country. There is great evidence that transmission of diseases from wild birds to domestic ones may occur. In Egypt, it was reported that cloacal swabs of quail and king fisher contained different pathogenic microorganisms (Salmonella sp., Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus sp.). Ectoparasitic infestation is one of the most important parasitic diseases of birds. In a study on ectoparasites from migratory birds, it was found that quails are infected with six species of acarina (Megninia sp. Pterophagus sp., Cheyletiella sp., Falcutifer rostratus, Dermanyssus gallinaae and Dermoglyphus sp.). These parasites may cause losses for the poultry industry, house dust allergy, topic dermatitis and human scabies. In Egypt, during 2005, there was proof that the spread of avian influenza was promoted by migratory birds. It caused a huge loss for the poultry industry in Egypt.
The great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, causes substantial damage to fisheries in Bardawil – one estimate suggested that 6 percent of Bardawil’s fish production was lost to the species in the winter of 1989-90. Up to 30 000 individuals of the former species were estimated to be present at Bardawil in winter and it appears that the numbers of this bird wintering at the Bardawil lagoon are growing.

3.6.8 Elements for green accounting

Electricity can be found in almost all inhabited villages of Egypt (80 percent) but not along the 7 shores of the lagoon. The main source of energy for household uses is LP gas. For fishing boats, the main source of energy is diesel fuel. The cost of both sources is subsidized by the government. They are sold at very low prices (US$ 1 for 5 liters of diesel fuel and US$ 0.5 for 12 kg of LP gas). These low prices encouraged some people to smuggle and resell it to other international fishing boats in the open sea. In rural areas around the lagoons, some poor fish farmers and fishers still use agriculture by-products as fuel (corn, cotton, rice, or wheat straws).
Most of the cultured fish in the delta lagoons is composed of tilapias and mullets. Tilapia is usually transferred alive in tanks by trucks, after harvesting to special cages arranged in water bodies near the market site. This process is usually conducted at night and the fish arrive at market in the early morning alive. Mullets are transferred in Styrofoam containers with crushed ice to the market. There is no control over this process. Fishers have to pay taxes at landing sites to compensate for administration work and pay their subscription and share for fishery cooperatives.