In pics: Life renewed at Bardawil Lake as fishing season begins

CAIRO – 27 April 2022: Life was renewed in Bardawil Lake as the new fishing season begins after a pause.

Bardawil Lake on North Sinai coast witnessed the launch of a new successful fishing season, where 3,500 fishermen made fishing trips on 1,228 boats, picking up from the surface of the lake a number of types of fish that are collected and put on the market for the public.

Dr. Shukri Salman, director of Lake Bardawil, pointed out that opening the lake achieves a recovery for all areas of the villages that surround it, as its residents rely on fishing to make a living.

There are 3,500 fishermen working on 1228 boats, and other numbers of workers, drivers, services and others, pointing out that Lake Bardawil on the Mediterranean coast in North Sinai is one of the most important sources of fish production in Egypt and one of the most important sites of its vital treasures in the field of fish production.

He said that the types of fish that are caught from the lake are bream, sea bass, moose, waqar, lot, buri, toubar, dahban, deer, shebar, sea eel, crab, and other types, stressing that fishing in the lake is subject to controls, which is allowing work with fishing licenses for boats.

All fishermen are obligated during the fishing period to take all precautionary measures during the start of work and to wear masks.

He stressed that the production is carried out by the fishermen and according to the market, supply and demand, as he stressed that the management of the lake provides all the necessary support to the fishermen.

“Lake Bardawil is one of the purest lakes in the world, with an area of ​​165,000 acres, and there is a large portion of shallow water that has not been exploited,” said Engineer Sami Suleiman Al-Hawari, the Director of the Fisheries Region in North Sinai, adding that the lake is the main artery of the North Sinai economy.

In the north, it is separated from the sea by a narrow strip ranging from 200 to 1000 meters, a mixture of heterogeneous sand mixed with shells.

Amani Raslan, North Sinai Supply Director, confirmed that the Directorate of Supply, in turn, provides its services to fishermen for the regularity of fishing by boat, by providing fuel at stations at the anchorages, and the fuel is regularly dispensed to fishermen.

She said that there is a factory in the lake for the production of ice, a foam factory and places for collecting fish, and all needs are followed up in coordination with the lake administration and the competent authorities.

In turn, a number of fishermen in Lake Bardawil confirmed their happiness to return to what they called their home, which is the waters of Lake Bardawil.

Muhammad Odeh, one of the oldest fishermen, said that the fishing profession is inherited by generations from the residents of Bardawil, and it is their only source of livelihood, pointing out that the most important types of fish that have been caught are bream and mullet, and it is very popular.

Hassan Suleiman, one of the fishermen, indicated that their production is sold to traders who transport it to the markets in the cities of El-Arish, Bir al-Abed and other governorates, noting that the production comes out of the lake daily after the return of fishing boats.

The lake attracts hundreds of non-fishermen seeking a livelihood, including those who provide fishing nets and manufacture them for fishermen, and those who provide maintenance work for boats and drivers.