CAIRO - Fisheries in the Delta governorate of Kafr el-Sheikh, whose production is sold in about l5 governorates, are facing a major problem concerning health and hygiene, which is caused by the kind of fish feed used by farmers. Both owners and leaseholders of the governorate fisheries are reported to rely on the leftovers of slaughterhouses, poultry shops and restaurants as well as manure to feed the fish instead of organic fish fodder. Farmers admit that the uncontrolled prices of fodder which have gone off the scale, like many other commodities in the local market, have compelled them to seek less costly food sources. Adel Tolan a researcher at the Fish Wealth Research Centre in Kafr el-Sheikh warns against the harmful use of cattle manure especially given the epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease spreading across the country. Interviewed by Al-Ahram, Tolan criticised poor supervision over private-owned fisheries, some of which depend on the contaminated water of the Kitshner canal. “This results in noticeable change in the biological milieu of the water in these fisheries caused by the high rate of ammonia, chemicals and toxicants that in turn affect the fish hence health of consumers.” The detrimental effect of such malpractices is aggravated by the fact that fisheries in the governorate occupy an area of 400,000 feddans, as fishing being a major occupation for thousands of farmers in Kafr el-Sheikh. According to Farida Abdou, deputy chairman of the Pharmacists' Syndicate in Kafr el-Sheikh, private fisheries depend heavily on leftovers such as poultry feather, intestines and blood to feed fish fry, not to mention hormones and some drugs that make fish gain weight in no time. Violations also include the purchase of smuggled subsidised flour at black market prices as some kinds of fish raised in these fisheries feed on flour and semolina. Consumers in the governorate, who realise the looming danger, have urged the officials concerned to exercise control on these fisheries. They also expect the security authorities to prevent the heavy traffic of trucks loaded with manure and odoriferous animal leftovers, which are providing fisheries with these undesirable items. A 4,000 kilometre coastal stretch along the Mediterranean and the Red Sea in addition to four northern lakes, including el-Borolos in Kafr el-Sheikh, should make Egypt self-sufficient in fish production. Experts attribute the supply-demand gap to technical and financial reasons related to out-dated equipment and poor storage and marketing facilities. However, Minister of Agriculture, Reda Ismail has previously said that a plan had been drawn to increase production to l.5 million tonnes from the current rate of 950,000 tonnes. Fish imports are estimated to be 400,000 tonnes.
