Deep blue sea

The wondrous marine life off the shores of southern Sinai may be under dire threat. And, it's been lurking under water for the past 16 years. Dena Rashed takes a dive into the controversy surrounding the Aquarium Fish Project
It is early in the morning when Hussein, a diver for the Aquarium Fish Project, plunges into the crystal blue waters of the Red Sea. For 10 years now, Hussein has started six days out of the week this way: peeking through coral in search of the exotic fish of the hour. This morning it may be the Royal Angelfish, easily identifiable by its electric blue-and-yellow colour; tomorrow it may be a dazzling black-and-white Schooling Banner. This hide-and-seek is no game; when Hussein spots the fated fish, it will be gently nudged into his net and transferred to an underwater cage.
It is just the beginning of a long and perilous journey that will traverse oceans and continents, only to end up plopped into the carefully maintained waters of some collector's private aquarium. The journey overseas can take as long as two days. Hussein says each fish is placed in a tightly closed plastic bag, "full of water and compressed oxygen", and then double bagged before being stacked in a carton for export.
Launched in 1986 in the South Sinai capital of Al-Tor, the Aquarium Fish Project was the first of its kind in the region and remains the only such project in Egypt. Although little known, it's a multi-million-dollar business. Taking advantage of the Red Sea's precious marine life, the group gathers species sought for salt-water aquariums and exports them to Europe, the Unites States and Asia. The fish are collected between Al-Tor and the western borders of Ras Mohamed national park, a 70-kilometre stretch of shoreline. The project is affiliated with the Egyptian Fisheries Company, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The organisation has been flying under the radar for more than decade, but recently, it has been sniffed out by concerned environmentalists and governorate officials. Project director Ashraf Abu Zeid, who has been on board since the venture was launched, is scandalised by accusations that diving activities are disrupting the natural environment. Noting that the work is a "national project", Abu Zeid insists that "We have never done anything outside of the law. We are always careful not to disturb the environment with our activities."
Some might disagree. The first to come around asking questions was South Sinai Governor Mustafa Afifi. "The project was a total mess and suffering financial losses when I visited it for the first time in 1997," Afifi told Al-Ahram Weekly. "It was not even covering its costs and I issued them several warnings." He also ordered a comprehensive study. "I wanted to know if there were any benefits to the project -- what exactly it was adding to the national economy -- and weigh this information against the environmental damage that could result," Afifi said.
The Central Administration for Nature Protection (CANP), an affiliate of the Egyptian Environment Affairs Authority (EEAA), stepped in to conduct the study. The results, say environmentalists, were frightening. According to Mohamed Salem, the researcher responsible for carrying out the study, the Aquarium Fish Project has intruded heavily on the natural balance of marine life in the area, particularly in the Ras Mohamed protected area. "We conducted a fish count, which indicated that the numbers of certain fish exported by the company have decreased by 50 per cent -- namely, members of the angel fish family. Other types have simply disappeared," said Salem. "In short, this project has negatively affected the diversity of fish [in the region]."
Yasser, one of the divers who participated in the study, was equally concerned. A member of the CANP research unit responsible for routine surveillance of marine life in South Sinai's protected areas, he stressed that the company cannot go on thinking it is functioning in a void. The Aquarium Fish Project may not operate in protected waters, but Ras Mohamed is a "receiving area" -- meaning it is not self-sustaining; it is replenished by overflow from other areas. When the spawning rate in areas nearby drops, marine life in the protectorate suffers.
Ras Mohamed was Egypt's first national park and remains the country's largest one. In 1983, when it was first designated a protectorate, it accounted for 97 square kilometres. Today, it covers an area of 480 square kilometres, including both marine and terrestrial areas around the Ras Mohamed Peninsula, the island of Tiran, and all shorelines to the highest annual tide between the main Sharm Al-Sheikh harbour and the southern boundary of the Naqab Managed Resource Protected Area.
But fish do not heed maps. "There are no barriers in the marine environment," said Salem. "What happens outside the protectorate affects it. Fish eggs, for example, are carried by water currents from one area to another." Contrary to popular belief, notes Salem, the Red Sea is one of the poorest areas in fish productivity -- all the more reason to hold onto the fish that are there right now.
Back at the Aquarium Fish Project, however, Abu Zeid couldn't disagree more. Noting that the company has always abided by a strict set of criteria drawn up to ensure that the area's natural resources remain healthy, Abu Zeid explained that the region in which they fish is divided into two parts. Each year the divers only fish in one of the sections, leaving "ample time" for fish in the other area to reproduce. "The divers do not over-fish," he maintains. "They never go out looking for fish unless there is an order from a client. Also, divers know the number of fish they will collect before entering the water; they do not exceed that quota." Explaining the situation in terms of their long-term outlook, Abu Zeid adds: "Besides, we cannot help but take care of the environment. If it is damaged, we know our business will not last."
Having presented his case, Abu Zeid then questioned the motives behind the sudden interest in the project's impact on the environment and hinting that the real issue is clearing the site to make way for tourism-oriented projects in Al-Tor. "Why is our project only coming under such scrutiny now?" he asked. "We have been in the business for 16 years, and we are still exporting the same species that we used to export when we began. This means we have not negatively affected the fish population," he claimed.
This, of course, is a matter of judgment. Abu Zeid says that the mortality rate of the fish they catch does not exceed 5 per cent -- a figure he considers very low but which environmentalist declare to be very high. Even the soft nets used to catch the fish are a focus of debate. The project divers believe that their soft nets ensure the safety of the fish. According to Haj Gharib, who has been in the fishing business for the past 35 years, it is the "traditional fishermen" who are to blame for environmental damage. "Their nets capture aquarium fish along with everything else. It is these nets that should be supervised by the Ministry of the Environment, not the project," he said. Essam Sa'dallah, deputy director of the National Parks of Egypt, South Sinai Sector, begs to differ. "Although to the non-specialist the nets might appear harmless, they do not easily tear, and can end up harming coral reefs."
Tying the rise of tourism in the region to the need to protect the star attraction, Sa'dallah argues that with tourists coming from all over the world to snorkel and dive in these waters, it is important that these fish be allowed to flourish in their natural habitat. "We are not against the company, nor the principle of exportation; but we are against the depletion of resources," Sa'dallah said. He noted that Egypt could still export salt-water fish, but rather than catching them in the wild, they should be raised on farms. Saying that the area where the company fishes would need at least five years to recover its natural populations, Sa'dallah remonstrated that people go on fishing there anyway, thinking that there is no end to the fish in the sea. The CANP's Salem underscored that when we talk about fish count, we are talking about the health of marine life in general. "If there are no fish, the coral reefs die, and vice versa. It is as simple as that," he said.
Accusations of negligence with regard to environmental concerns are only part of the Aquarium Fish Project's woes. The group must also contend with speculation about its dubious financial status. "The project was initially set up with capital of LE170,000," claims Salem. "Since then it has not made any profit." Abu Zeid and Ahmed Mattar, head of the financial sector of the project, dismiss allegations that the enterprise is unprofitable. Following the CANP's claim that the company was losing money, the project managers produced documentation showing net profits of LE4.4 million.
"Although these returns might be minor in comparison to the money made in by the tourism industry, this project promotes Egypt in foreign markets," said Abu Zeid. Conceding that the company did have a period of financial difficulty, Abu Zeid explained that when the Aquarium Fish Project was set up, it was the first endeavour of its kind in the region. But in the early '90s, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Djibouti set up similar projects and Mattar says that the ensuing competition led to financial loss. "We could have cut our prices and over-fished to recover our losses, but we never did," Mattar noted. "We know what is best for the environment."
Preying on the fears of environmentalists, Abu Zeid issued a final warning: "I am sure illegal fishing would start as soon as our project was closed down -- especially since monitoring the vast areas of sea is a very difficult, if not impossible, task." He went on to classify the project as a tourist attraction in it own right, noting that visitors can see the aquarium free of charge. But the drab quarters have not been renovated in 16 years and are in dire need of spring cleaning.
Last month the controversy reached the People's Assembly. MP Mohamed Saleh, a marine biology specialist attached to the Cabinet and a diving instructor, is acutely aware of the need to protect and nurture Red Sea wild life. "Egypt is one the top 20 countries for diving, and yet only 600,000 divers visit the Red Sea annually; a small number when compared to the resources we have," Saleh said. In his remarks, argued that Egypt should develop its resources, not deplete them. Projects like the Aquarium Fish Project, said Saleh, are only concerned with bringing in foreign currency, at the expense of ecological damage.
However, a high-ranking official at the Egyptian Fisheries Company, who requested anonymity, told the Weekly that despite the EEAA report, their position remains constant: the project does not harm the environment in any way. "The project is recovering and we are gaining profits again, so why close it now, when we are benefiting the country?" he asked. "It is just because the governorate's first priority in Sinai is to promote tourism, regardless of the importance of any other projects," he said.
The issue is further complicated by the overlapping jurisdictions of South Sinai governorate, the Egyptian Fisheries Company (an affiliate of the Ministry of Agriculture) and the Ministry of Environment. Even Afifi has shifted his position since he first turned his scrutiny on the company. Although it was the governor himself who ordered the EEAA study, it seems now that he was not satisfied with the results. Speaking to the Weekly, he said that he found the report to be biased, adding that it neglected the various dimensions of the issue. "Since I did not get a final answer from the researchers about the exact damage caused by the project, I believe it should be given a chance, especially since it is now recovering its losses," he said.
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