CAIRO: Fish farming is one of the few remaining options available for countries to counter the depletion in their natural stock, noted an expert. Dr Mostafa El Saed, of the Desert Research Centre, Cairo, who specializes in experimenting with the creation of fish farms in the Egyptian desert, pointed out that due to the development in fish farming technology, it is now possible to produce cost-effective fish with equal nutritional value. "After several disputes arose between nations on fishing territories, now many of them [the countries] are seeing a boom as a result of developing fish farms, El Saed commented. "Some of these are Mediterranean countries who brought in fish cage technology. Take the example of Turkey, which has realized 100 percent gain through the application of this method. He stated: "Turkey has 303 fish farms. One of the companies there owns seven hatcheries, with a capacity of 20 million hatches. "Next to Turkey comes Greece which operates 264 marine cages, followed by Croatia, Spain, France, Italy and Cyprus. Many types of the Mediterranean fish produced thanks to this technology are exported to northern European countries where these types are not available due to their location in the cold zone. El Saed explained that Tunisia is the first Arab country to break into this field, employing Italian expertise. "But if we have a look at the province comprising the Red Sea and the Suez Gulf, we will find that Israel has set up six fish cages in Elaat in a very small area, in addition to two marine hatcheries. "As for the Arabian Gulf region, Saudi Arabia has created a huge prawn farm with a capacity of 20,000 tons a year. Also 27 sites have been selected on the Saudi Red Sea coast to set up additional prawn farms that will start operating late this year. Fish farms were launched in Oman, prawn farms in the UAE, both are assisted by Norwegian expertise. Operating with the force of the tide, Egypt has established fish farms in the area between Port Said and Damietta, using expertise from Ecuador. One investor has laid down the foundations of a fish farm in Zafarana and its success is likely to encourage other businessmen to invest in the field. "Built with Cypriot assistance, this project is in a real need of the state's support, remarked El Saed. Fish farming is the only way for Egypt to improve its fisheries, remarked the expert. "The country has coasts which could be ideal sites for fish farms, leading to an increase in local fish production. This could rival other countries in international fish markets and provide employment opportunities.
