{"id":17762,"date":"2026-10-08T10:11:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T08:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=17762"},"modified":"2026-10-08T10:55:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T08:55:29","slug":"lake-qarun-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/lake-qarun-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake Qarun: Saving the Fish Starts with Stopping the Pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"

For decades, Lake Qarun in Egypt\u2019s Fayoum governorate has faced environmental degradation associated with agricultural drainage and sewage, including pesticide and fertilizer residues and organic waste. The damage has affected fish stocks and the livelihoods of families who depend on fishing.<\/p>\n

Researchers interviewed for this report describe a severe decline in the fishery and lasting consequences for those who work there. Pollution, salinity, parasites and illegal fishing interact with another vulnerability: the closed lake\u2019s dependence on restocking with young fish.<\/p>\n

Any numerical account of the decline must identify the starting and ending dates and the catch covered by each source. A percentage describing one interval cannot be combined with figures spanning four decades and presented as a single official series. Adel Ali Ahmed\u2019s recollection of past output of around 4,500 tonnes, discussed below, is an estimate given in his interview, rather than a figure assigned here to an unspecified season. Documenting falling production must also be connected to the circumstances of households that have lost their livelihood.<\/p>\n

A Reuters report published in September 2022<\/a> documented fishermen moving elsewhere or seeking other work, while some adapted their boats for visitor excursions. Those accounts describe the livelihood crisis at that time; they are not a current census of fishing boats or workers.<\/p>\n

A study by researchers at Fayoum University and the National Water Research Center, published in Water Science on 17 March 2026<\/a>, identified microbial pollution and antibiotic resistance in lake-water samples. The samples, however, were collected in January 2022 and July 2023. Its findings are neither a measurement of water quality in October 2026 nor a comprehensive food-safety assessment of fish on sale.<\/p>\n

Heavy metals have also been investigated. A study published in 2025<\/a> reported elevated lead, nickel and cadmium in water samples against its chosen aquatic-life benchmarks, with differences between sites. This supports examining specific pollutants and locations while keeping water testing distinct from analysis of edible fish tissue.<\/p>\n

Qarun is one of Fayoum\u2019s most prominent natural and historical landmarks. It lies in the Fayoum Depression, around 27 kilometres north of Fayoum city and approximately 80 kilometres southwest of Cairo, some 43\u201345 metres below sea level.<\/p>\n

An Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency report<\/a> puts its area at approximately 53,000 feddans and its average depth at about 4.2 metres. The lake forms part of the Qarun protected area, which also includes geologically and archaeologically important land. The reserve\u2019s wider boundaries should not be confused with the area of the water itself.<\/p>\n

Published dimensions vary with the measurement date, water level and definition of the water body. An approximate total area does not mean that shoreline length or depth is uniform or permanent. This distinction matters when assessing pollution loads, stocking quantities or dredging: decisions require maps and measurements of the particular area concerned, not just an average for the entire lake.<\/p>\n

A network of drains feeds the lake, most prominently El-Batts and El-Wadi. Agricultural drainage mixes with sewage and other pollutants along these routes, making the interception and treatment of waste before it reaches the lake central to restoration.<\/p>\n

With no outlet to the sea, Qarun is affected by accumulating salts, evaporation and the composition of incoming water. Salinity measurements therefore need to be read alongside their sampling dates and locations, rather than treating an old figure as a permanent description of the whole lake.<\/p>\n

Omar Tammam, a professor of nature reserves and former head of an environmental institute, identifies three principal sources of pollution: municipal sewage, industrial discharge and agricultural drainage. Their accumulation, he says, has damaged aquatic life and biodiversity.<\/p>\n

He links sewage to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, industrial discharge to heavy metals and other chemicals, and agricultural drainage to pesticides and fertilizers reaching the water.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Zawia3, Tammam warns of the risks that parasites, heavy metals and bacterial contamination pose to fish and food safety. The evidence reviewed for this report does not establish that every fish from the lake is unsafe to eat. Such a conclusion would require representative testing of fish themselves, accounting for species, catch location and date.<\/p>\n

He recalls the lake\u2019s importance as a national resource: its brackish conditions supported shrimp and suitable fish species, while the surrounding habitat attracted migratory birds, including waders and waterfowl. He attributes declines in bird numbers to pollution and hunting with guns and nets, warning of the consequences for biodiversity.<\/p>\n

Tammam says rehabilitation efforts involving researchers from Cairo University, fisheries authorities and Fayoum governorate had produced signs of recovery, including returning wildlife and improved fish and shrimp activity. In his assessment, renewed pollution has undermined part of that progress.<\/p>\n

Restoration cannot be limited to cleaning the water or adding fish, he argues. Industrial chemicals and heavy metals, agricultural inputs and sewage from surrounding settlements must be controlled at their sources, including waste that reaches soil and groundwater before entering the lake.<\/p>\n

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Protecting the lake begins with controlling the sources of pollution, rather than relying on cleaning the water or releasing fish.<\/p>\n

A summary of Omar Tammam\u2019s recommendation to Zawia3.<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He calls for safe sanitation systems and strict environmental controls on settlements, factories and agricultural activities around the lake. Restocking and diversifying economically valuable species should follow those measures as part of a sustained recovery.<\/p>\n

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Why has the fishery deteriorated?<\/h2>\n

Ashraf Shebl, an economics professor at Suez University\u2019s fisheries faculty, identifies pollution, overfishing and inadequate natural food as pressures that can undermine fisheries. Continuing pollution makes cleanup more costly, he says, and developments around Qarun should be assessed for their compatibility with the lake\u2019s environment.<\/p>\n

Shebl believes the lake has lost much of its environmental, tourism and productive value. During a visit, he noticed algae spreading across the surface, which he regarded as a sign of deteriorating conditions.<\/p>\n

He explains that damaged habitats reduce the prospects for fish growth and replenishment. In a closed lake such as Qarun, fish cannot simply escape adverse conditions by moving out to the sea.<\/p>\n

Shebl specifically emphasizes the role of heavy metals in damaging the natural habitats on which fish production depends. Young fish need those habitats to grow, and their destruction can reduce the biological stock available for future catches. His general explanation distinguishes fish able to move away from a damaged area from those that die when they cannot reach suitable conditions. For Qarun, any such movement is constrained within the lake, rather than a route to the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n

Shebl calls for reviewing the entire fishing system against the lake\u2019s productive capacity, ecological limits and fishing regulations. Gear and methods that exceed the lake\u2019s capacity to replenish its stocks, he warns, damage the aquatic environment and deplete the fishery.<\/p>\n

He sees similar combinations of pollution, overfishing and limited natural food in other Egyptian lakes. Efforts to improve food availability or clean the water can be undermined when pollutants keep arriving.<\/p>\n

Salinity beyond the tolerance of resident species adds another pressure, he says, alongside the effects of heat and climate change. His proposed response combines source control, regulation of activities around the shore and fishing practices appropriate to the lake\u2019s capacity.<\/p>\n

In Shebl\u2019s assessment, temperature and salinity affect ecological balance and the fish stock together. His proposed review therefore extends to the establishments and activities around the shoreline, their compatibility with the surrounding environment and their ability to operate without undermining the fishery. He argues that cleaning an affected area while the underlying sources persist can waste both the environmental gains and the money spent achieving them.<\/p>\n

Environmental researcher and lawyer Ahmed El-Saeedy, director of the Egyptian Foundation for Environmental Rights, similarly argues that cleaning operations and releases of young fish and shrimp cannot substitute for preventing pollution.<\/p>\n

For El-Saeedy, these pressures need to be assessed as a combination. Overfishing and other stresses contribute to loss of productive capacity, while the area\u2019s geological history and biodiversity give it significance beyond the commercial catch. Birds use the area throughout the year, and changes in the aquatic system also affect the organisms on which they depend. Restoring the lake\u2019s environmental function is therefore part of restoring its productive function.<\/p>\n

He stresses the region\u2019s environmental and historical importance and warns that contaminated water affects birds and other organisms dependent on the lake. Egypt\u2019s Environment Ministry includes the lake within the Qarun protected area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lake has existed for thousands of years, so the changes taking place cannot be separated from the substantial increase in human pressures and sources of pollution,\u201d he tells Zawia3. He associates growing population pressure and pollution with worsening conditions and changes in the lake\u2019s chemical composition.<\/p>\n

El-Saeedy criticizes the limited availability of results from periodic water analyses undertaken by the health, environment and irrigation authorities. In his view, monitoring standards and enforcement need updating, alongside transparent reporting of results.<\/p>\n

Some of the rules governing sampling and publication of water-test results date back decades, he argues. He considers the existing standards inadequate and criticizes weak implementation of penalties that can include stopping an activity. These are his recommendations for regulation and enforcement, rather than a determination here that a named facility has committed a specific legal violation.<\/p>\n

El-Saeedy also cites a State Council opinion concerning a project in the Wadi El Rayan reserve, which he says rejected activity harmful to wildlife and vegetation despite company reports arguing that fish farming could be beneficial. This report did not obtain the opinion or verify its date and number. The account remains attributed to him, rather than being used as proof of a binding ruling on a particular Qarun project. His underlying point is that activities in protected areas must respect their ecological characteristics.<\/p>\n

He calls for all discharges into waterways to undergo appropriate treatment. He expresses concern about untreated industrial waste and whether treatment undertaken by facilities is sufficiently monitored, arguing that regulators should focus on preventing pollution rather than only compensating for lost fish stocks.<\/p>\n

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Restoration begins before the wastewater arrives<\/h2>\n

Government efforts in recent years have included expanding wastewater treatment through infrastructure and village-development programmes, with additional support from international and European institutions.<\/p>\n

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development<\/a> describes a programme supported by the European Union and European Investment Bank that includes constructing or rehabilitating 12 treatment plants and procuring 28 evacuation trucks for remote areas. Its stated goal is to connect more than 80% of rural Fayoum to safe wastewater systems. These are programme components and targets, rather than an independent measurement of ecological recovery in the lake.<\/p>\n

On 11 November 2023, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced improved water quality and a fall in salinity from 40,000 to 28,000 \u201cunits,\u201d as reported by the National Media Authority<\/a>. That was a government assessment at a particular date, not a current reading or proof that the sources of pollution had disappeared.<\/p>\n

Adel Ali Ahmed, a professor of aquatic biology and former dean of a marine sciences institute, says Qarun must be managed as a complete ecosystem. Treating incoming waste, cleaning contaminated areas, controlling illegal fishing, rebuilding the food chain and considering biological controls are connected parts of that work.<\/p>\n

He explains that the lake has no present-day direct connection to the Nile or the Mediterranean. As agriculture expanded in Fayoum, drainage flowed through canals into the lake. El-Batts and El-Wadi pass through villages, some of which have discharged sewage into the same waterways in the absence of adequate sanitation networks.<\/p>\n

\u201cPollution is not distributed equally across the lake. It is concentrated more heavily in the eastern part, where El-Batts drain enters with agricultural drainage and associated sewage pollutants,\u201d he tells Zawia3. He regards El-Wadi as relatively less contaminated by sewage, while noting that fish farms use its water and return some of it towards the lake.<\/p>\n

Agricultural drainage can carry fertilizer residues, including nitrates and phosphates, that encourage algal growth and increase organic matter, Ahmed says. He proposes investigating aeration and oxidation measures, such as solar-powered fountains, to help manage organic loading.<\/p>\n

His example involves drawing water and returning it to the lake after exposure to air, potentially through solar-powered fountains. He presents this as one possible response to accumulated organic matter, not a substitute for controlling the fertilizer residues and sewage that continue to enter the system. Any intervention would need to be assessed alongside the broader rehabilitation plan.<\/p>\n

He acknowledges measures intended to reduce pollution, including wastewater plants under the Haya Karima initiative and work to organize drainage networks.<\/p>\n

Ahmed does not attribute the decline to pollution or parasitic isopods alone. Other polluted lakes, including Mariout and Manzala, have continued to support fish. Qarun\u2019s lack of natural exchange with the sea creates particular constraints for species whose life cycles require movement between marine and inland waters.<\/p>\n

For years, he says, maintaining fish stocks depended on regular releases of young fish by the fisheries authority, now the Lakes Protection and Fish Resources Development Agency. He recalls past annual production of around 4,500 tonnes, including mullet, sea bass, sea bream, sole, shrimp and green tilapia.<\/p>\n

He also attributes increased destructive fishing after the January 2011 uprising to weaker enforcement during the security disruption, particularly trawling and shrimp nets that damage the lake bed and breeding habitats.<\/p>\n

Ahmed sees parasitic isopods as part of a wider ecological imbalance. When fish that prey on their early life stages decline, he explains, the parasites may have greater opportunity to proliferate. They can attach to fish or enter their gills, damaging health and growth and potentially causing death.<\/p>\n

He advocates examining biological controls and selecting fish that can feed on the parasites or are less susceptible to them. He describes a project funded by Egypt\u2019s Academy of Scientific Research and Technology that monitored pollution monthly, studied fish species and infection patterns, and investigated the parasites\u2019 genetics and distribution.<\/p>\n

According to Ahmed, the team tested different fish species in the laboratory to assess susceptibility and predation, seeking a restocking strategy suited to each part of the lake. The aim was to match species and stocking levels to local conditions rather than release young fish indiscriminately.<\/p>\n

He points to diatoms, microscopic algae, in the western part of the lake and the potential role of natural food in rebuilding the food chain and selecting suitable species.<\/p>\n

Ahmed links the availability of natural food in the west with the possible suitability of some locations for shrimp. This proposal requires field assessment of food, water quality and the needs of the species stocked. The presence of a single type of algae cannot establish a site\u2019s suitability, and describing it as less polluted does not determine its stocking capacity. The proposal forms part of his wider approach to distributing species according to local environmental characteristics.<\/p>\n

Ahmed prioritizes the eastern area, where El-Batts enters. He recommends using maps and geological studies to identify contamination hotspots, measure accumulated sediments and establish where removal is needed. He also proposes reconsidering the location of activities that put pressure on the east, alongside infrastructure and road planning appropriate to restoration.<\/p>\n

More specifically, Ahmed suggests examining whether activities placing pressure on the east can be moved to less affected western areas, with roads and infrastructure planned around ecological rehabilitation. This is his proposal, not a decision already implemented. Its value would depend on whether it reduces pressure overall rather than simply moving pollution to a different part of the same closed water body.<\/p>\n

The interviews converge on a practical priority: treating and monitoring incoming waste before relying on cleanup or restocking alone. Open reporting on water quality and fish health, better fishing controls, carefully selected stocking material and parasite monitoring remain essential to judging recovery and sustaining it.<\/p>\n

The return of some fishing activity or improvement in a single indicator cannot, on its own, establish complete ecological recovery. Continuing discharge can undermine temporary gains, while salinity, heat and parasites affect the survival of different species. Preventing the introduction of contaminated young fish, monitoring after stocking and controlling unregulated fishing therefore remain parts of rehabilitation alongside wastewater treatment. Sustained recovery must ultimately be judged in both ecological conditions and the livelihoods that depend on them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wastewater, salinity, parasites and fishing pressures complicate Lake Qarun\u2019s recovery. Researchers explain why cleaning the lake and releasing young fish cannot succeed without controlling pollution at its source.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":17765,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1076],"tags":[2171,18021,18022,18020,18023,3684],"kateb":[1550],"class_list":["post-17762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-env","tag-fayoum","tag-fisheries","tag-fishermen","tag-lake-qarun","tag-wastewater-treatment","tag-water-pollution","kateb-aya-yasser"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/qarun-2026-cover-olive-v2.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17762"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17776,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17762\/revisions\/17776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17762"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=17762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}