AQUACULTURE IN EGYPT ------- TRIP REPORT

Workshop and Visits to Aquaculture Facilities in Egypt in Support of NARP

August 8 - 21, 1994

Kevin Fitzsimmons
University of Arizona - Environmental Research Lab
2601 E. Airport Drive
Tucson, AZ 85706
602-741-1990 (ph)
602-573-0852 (FAX)
e-mail "kevfitz@ag.arizona.edu"

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

SECTOR ANALYSIS

Aquaculture is growing in Egypt. Several species are in large scale production and making significant contributions to the nation's supply of high quality food. The private sector is beginning to grow, and the public sector contributes fry and fingerlings, extension support, some feeds and research support.

Specific constraints to further growth and development are structural rather than biological constraints. The most important constraint is the prohibition on using irrigation canals for cage culture. These are the most abundant water supplies in the country and most accessible for farmers. Aquaculture is a non-consumptive user of water and can contribute significant amounts of plant nutrients to the irrigation water. The impacts of cages on canal operations can be minimized by regular communication between irrigation staffers and fish farmers. Another significant constraint is the need to better coordinate shrimp and marine fish hatcheries with commercial producers. The capacity of the government hatcheries exceeds that of the private growout units to stock ponds and cages. But the private growers have not increased their production capacity. Finally, lack of extension of information from the well trained scientists to the farmers and private producers is holding back further growth of the industry.

TDY - The TDY was split evenly between field trips to various aquaculture locations in the north of Egypt and my presentations at the Center. All of these presentations were well attended by aquaculture professionals from agencies, private farms, universities and by others interested in aquaculture. The people at the seminars proved to be quite knowledgeable and made many valuable contributions to the discussions.

Field Trips - Recommendations

Damiet
1. The manufacture of simple pellets with meat grinding equipment as an alternative method of preparing the feed and should improve the weight gain from the feed presented.
2. A serious problem appears to be agricultural pollution, mostly pesticides that come with drainage water. A water quality assessment program would be useful for the fish farmers as well as other downstream water users, especially Lake Manzala. This program should examine Damiet water quality over an extended period (at least a year) and on a continuous basis (daily samples) until a sufficient data base is collected to predict conditions for safe aquaculture and other productive uses of the water.

Ismailia - Canal Canning Company
1.For the most part it appeared the plant would be able to meet the HACCP procedures now being adopted by the EC and the NAFTA (US, Canada and Mexico). The deficiencies were in the clean-up procedures for machinery during shut down periods, lack of shatter protection of lighting fixtures (to prevent glass shivers from bulbs getting in fish), and tiled floors or equivalent sealants on floor surfaces.

Maryut - I was very impressed with the operation of this facility and will be using many of its components in the development of aquaculture parks for a World Bank project in Mexico. In fact, I suggested to Dr. Beltagy and to my World Bank contacts that Maryut be used as a training center for aquaculture park managers from Mexico. I was especially impressed by the production manager, Mr. Mahmoud Fahmy. His devotion to maximizing production and minimizing expenses, while developing the industry in his country, is exactly what needs to be encouraged.

I would be curious to know if the administration of the General Authority would build the farm the same way or if they would invest the money in a wider distribution between several farms in various locations, or make some other changes.

Abbassa Facilities -Recommendations

1. For such a prestigious institute it is unfortunate that the road approaching the facility is in such disrepair. ARC has already made its contribution to the repair of the road, the inhabitants of the town deserve to have a decent road and this repair be accomplished.

2. Demonstration ponds at Abbassa are underutilized. A true commercial scale farm should be instituted. The goal would be to operate the farm for profit with the associates at the farm sharing in those profits. The operating and financial records of the farm should be open so that officials and aquaculture producers can examine and learn from the farm.

3. There are several areas of deferred maintenance that should be completed. One scheme that works in many businesses is to designate one or two afternoons per month for all of the staff to stay late for two hours and everyone helps with this work. This can be used to build staff pride and morale and accomplish the task of improving facilities.

4. The training and experimental results of the staff at Abbassa could be extended to the industry with greater frequency if ARC staff were able to visit farms on a more frequent basis. If extension is more a responsibility of the General Authority then additional contacts are needed between the Authority staff, ARC staff and the farmers. Additional funds should be provided to improve contacts (site visits especially) to best identify research and extension priorities.

5. ARC has a good complement of equipment, but there is a lack of expendable supplies and peripherals.

INTRODUCTION

The NARP supports a significant aquaculture research program through the National Aquaculture Research Center at Abbassa. This lab is staffed with a well trained group of scientists who have access to a large number of ponds for basic and applied research. The lab also has a compliment of up to date equipment to support the research efforts of the staff. In addition to the research ponds, there are a number of demonstration ponds which are of a commercial size, 7 - 8 feddans. During this TDY I was able to meet with many of the staff and students at the Center. The TDY was split evenly between field trips to various aquaculture locations in the north of Egypt and my presentations at the Center. All of these presentations were well attended by aquaculture professionals from agencies, private farms, universities and by others interested in aquaculture. The people at the seminars proved to be quite knowledgeable and made many valuable contributions to the discussions.

FIELD TRIPS

Damiet - Our first field trip was to visit the cage culture systems of Damiet. These cages are owned and operated by the private sector, some as single proprietors and others by small groups of investors. These cage systems appear to be very productive and the owner we met with reported that he has achieved yields of 1 to 2 metric tons per cage (about 700 m3 per cage). These cages received a mixture of feed ingredients selected by the owner including ground corn, wheat and agricultural by-products. This mixture was placed in straw baskets, soaked and then lowered into the middle of the cage by a pulley system. The fish were able swim into the submerged basket and eat the material in the basket. One observation was that much of the feed was lost in this process; some floated away, some was stirred up by the fish and became suspended in the water column, and some of the feed was eaten by the fish. The manufacture of simple pellets with meat grinding equipment was explained as an alternative method of preparing the feed and should improve the weight gain from the feed presented.

Another problem discussed by the farmers was pollution coming with the supply of water. The primary problem appears to be agricultural pollution, mostly pesticides that come with drainage water. A water quality assessment program would be useful for the fish farmers as well as other downstream water users. This program should examine Damiet water quality over an extended period (at least a year) and on a continuous basis (daily samples) until a sufficient data base is collected to predict conditions for safe aquaculture and other productive uses of the water.

Ismailia - Canal Canning Company - On Friday August 12 we visited this processing plant to view equipment and gather information on the operations and markets for canned fish. The plant has a full complement of equipment for filleting, packing, canning and cooking product. For the most part it appeared the plant would be able to meet the HACCP procedures now being adopted by the EC and the NAFTA (US, Canada and Mexico). The deficiencies were in the clean-up procedures for machinery during shut down periods, lack of shatter protection of lighting fixtures (to prevent glass shivers from bulbs getting in fish), and tiled floors or equivalent sealants on floor surfaces. Because we visited on Friday none of the senior management was available for us to present these recommendations, although the staff on hand were knowledgeable and quite helpful.

Suez Canal University - Aquaculture Center - Ismailia On Sunday, August 14, we visited the aquaculture facilities of the University in Ismailia. The brine shrimp research was interesting but the most important work was the new feed mill recently installed at the center. This California Pellet Mill was being operated to produce feeds for the facility and for local commercial farms. The scientists operating the equipment were well trained and knowledgeable. They also had a good understanding of their role in developing this technology for Egyptian aquaculture and encouraging its adoption into commercial aquaculture. The other facilities at the University were underutilized, many of the concrete ponds and tanks were not being used and needed maintenance and repairs.

Bardaweel - Next we visited the large coastal lagoon called Bardaweel Lake and met with the staff at the fisheries center. They showed us the processing and storage facilities being renovated at this site and explained how they are being upgraded to meet new EC standards. They also told us that the cages for sea bream (denise) were not very effective and had been moved out of the lake.

El Arrish - Later that day we drove to El Arrish to visit the Mariculture Center of Suez Canal University. this was an excellent facility that appears to be making excellent progress with a small well trained and dedicated staff. Their progress on spawning Peneaus japonicus is impressive and it appears that they are capable of supporting a significant production capacity when the private sector should build the necessary ponds. I think additional coordination with the shrimp research group of the University of Arizona would be valuable.

Maryut - On Tuesday, August 16, we visited the fish farm complex at Maryut. This project is one of the largest aquaculture projects in the world. The farm is capable of supplying all of its own fingerlings and post larvae, as well as providing significant quantities to outside producers. These Pl's and fingerlings are sold to outside growers at what would appear to be the market price. The fish produced at the facility ar marketed through seven associated market outlets, again at market prices. The most remarkable point of the farm was that almost all of the ponds, tanks and greenhouses seemed to be in operation. The staff level was reported to be 500, with 300 having technical training.

Maryut was built with a loan from the World Bank of approximately $30,000,000. No information was provided on the economics of the farm, but it seemed to be a well managed farm that was generating significant sales volumes of final product and PL's and fingerlings for other sectors of the industry. It also would seem to be an important point of technology development and transfer. Their work on large-scale reproduction of sea bream, sea bass and mullet, in conjunction with the Oceanic Institute of Hawaii, is the state of the art. However, $30,000,000 is a huge sum of money and I would be curious to know what the General Authority for Fisheries would change.

I was very impressed with the operation of this facility and will be using many of its components in the development of aquaculture parks for a World Bank project in Mexico. In fact, I would like to suggest that Maryut be used as a training center for aquaculture park managers from Mexico. I was especially impressed by the production manager, Mr. Mahmoud Fahmy. His devotion to maximizing production and minimizing expenses, while developing the industry in his country, is exactly what needs to be encouraged.

I would be curious to know if the administration of the General Authority would build the farm the same way or if they would invest the money in a wider distribution between several farms in various locations, or make some other changes.

Later that day we visited an integrated farm for the production of ducks and fish. The duck units were on pontoons with wooden floors covered with wood shavings with gates out to a swimming area that has screened bottom and sides but is open to the top. The pontoons were tied to pilings which did not allow for movement of the structure. Because of this, it was obvious that excess wastes were accumulating on the bottom, bubbles of hydrogen sulfide were frequently seen. The fish that were benefiting from the enriched environment and taking leftover duck feed were free ranging in the lagoon for the entire community to harvest. Finally, the posted price for the ducks did not appear to be sufficient to recover all the costs of production, especially since the fish were not contained and captured for the benefit of the integrated project. The farmer also had a number of small sturdily built cages for use in the lagoon, no information was available, but they represented a significant investment and should be productive for a long time.

Meetings at the General Authority for Aquaculture Aug. 17

(Building next to Sonesta Hotel)

Went to the headquarters and met with a variety of people in the authority starting on the tenth floor and worked our way down. Spent some time with Eng. Ahmed Elimiri, an aquaculture economist who received his Master's at Thunderbird in Glendale. Also met with hatchery section head who reviewed their programs. Currently have 11 hatcheries concentrating mostly on freshwater species (tilapia and grass carp). Also, have 9 collection centers for capture and distribution of wild fry and fingerlings. Collectors must have permits from the Authority. The Authority also distributes a price list for the fry and fingerlings they sell to commercial operators. Subsistence rice farmers are given fish for free.

Visit to Abbassa Fish Hatchery Aug. 18, 1994

Went to this hatchery which is operated by the general authority only a few kilometers from the Abbassa Research Center. Carp (grass, common, silver) and tilapia are the major species. Large hatchery built on a Hungarian model is only used for carp production. Tilapia were tried in the hatchery but yields did not justify the extra work, so fry are collected from shallows of breeding ponds. An intensive system similar to the farm at Maryut was attempted but later shut down as uneconomical. There are a large number of ponds and production was 40 million fingerlings last year, about 60% carp. Staffing was 60 people, 15 technical, 41 labor and 4 drivers.

Visit to Army Farm for Tilapia and Macrobrachium Aug. 18, 1994

This large intensive, recirculating farm is operated by the Army. It was designed and built by the Aquarius group out of Norway and consists of 3 parts (Farms A,B,and C) the water circulates through two large biofilters and separate batteries of self-cleaning incline screen filters. Broodstock tilapia are kept in 280 m3 concrete tanks and then moved into the hatchery building. We spent some time discussing how to increase fry survival by changing diet to include more fat content (from 5% to 10%) and using more vigorous scheduling of transfers to stop cannibalism. Fry were kept in hatchery building to 40g and then moved to outside concrete round production tanks. Suggested changes in flow pattern and aeration. Also suggested that prawn larvae be fed algae at early stage and stop egg mix and switch to prepared crumbled diet to feed PL's. (Farm has on-site feed mill)

AQUACULTURE RESEARCH CENTER

Abbassa Facilities - Over the number of days I was able to spend at Abbassa there were several topics that I feel should be brought to attention.

First, for such a prestigious institute it is unfortunate that the road approaching the facility is in such disrepair. My understanding is that the ARC has already made its contribution to the repair of the road and the inhabitants of the town deserve to have a decent road. I would like to add my recommendation that this repair be accomplished.

Second, the demonstration ponds at Abbassa are underutilized. A true commercial scale farm should be instituted with a person like Mr Fahmy of Maryut placed in charge. His goal would be to operate the farm for profit with his associates at the farm sharing in those profits. The operating and financial records of the farm should be open so that officials and aquaculture producers can examine and learn from the farm.

Third, there are several areas of deferred maintenance (cleaning, painting, removal of trash, and labeling of ponds) that should be completed. One scheme that works in many businesses is to designate one or two afternoons per month for all of the staff to stay late for two hours and everyone helps with this work. This can be used to build staff pride and morale and accomplish the task of improving facilities.

Fourth, the training and experimental results of the staff at Abbassa could be extended to the industry with greater frequency if ARC staff were able to visit farms on a more frequent basis. If extension is more a responsibility of the General Authority then additional contacts are needed between the Authority staff, ARC staff and the farmers. Additional funds should be provided to improve contacts (site visits especially) to best identify research and extension priorities.

Fifth, ARC has a good complement of equipment, but there is a lack of expendable supplies and peripherals.

SECTOR ANALYSIS

Aquaculture is growing in Egypt. Several species are in large scale production and making significant contributions to the nation's supply of high quality food. The private sector is beginning to grow, and the public sector contributes fry and fingerlings, extension support, some feeds and research support.

Specific constraints to further growth and development are structural rather than biological constraints. The most important constraint is the prohibition on using irrigation canals for cage culture. These are the most abundant water supplies in the country and most accessible for farmers. Aquaculture is a non-consumptive user of water and can contribute significant amounts of plant nutrients to the irrigation water. The impacts of cages on canal operations can be minimized by regular communication between irrigation staffers and fish farmers.

There is excess fingerling and PL supply from public sector hatcheries and private sector farm growth should be encouraged to even supply and demand. Eventually this function should be in the private sector. Privatization can be achieved by divestment of the facilities at some point or by slowing raising prices until private farms replace the supply.

Notes:
1. Also took five rolls of film and one videocassette of various sites.
2. Have a long list of reprint requests from staff and participants of workshops and have begun sending same.