Overview of Egypt’s fish farming, fishing industry in Egypt

CAIRO - 24 January 2021: After the inauguration of Fayrouz Fish Farm project east of Port Said on Saturday by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the following is an overview of the fish farming and fishing industry in Egypt.

In 2019, Egypt’s annual production of fish hit two million tons recording self-sufficiency of 85 percent. Of those, 1.6 million tons are the output of fisheries. The rest came from the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Nile Rivers, and lakes.

In the same year, Egypt exported 35,000 tons of fish, and imported 325,000 tons of sardines, herring, and mackerel. Yet, Egypt is the world’s third in tilapia production. In the same context, Egypt ranks first in Africa and sixth globally in fish farming. 

The government cleaned and developed the lakes of Manzala, Borolos, Mariout, and Bardawil as the total size of lakes’ production became 183,000 tons per annum. In addition, large fish farming projects have been accomplished such as Berket Gelioun in Kafr El Sheikh governorate, El Diba Triangle western Port Said, East of Tafreah fisheries in Port Said, and the Suez Canal Company for Fish Farming.

Fish hatcheries have been developed to provide seeds for farming saltwater breeds. That was coupled with licensing nine fisheries that rely on underground water in the western desert. Moreover, capture fisheries are being introduced. Nine are located in the Red Sea and 12 are placed in the Mediterranean. Those will be offered to investors soon.