{"id":18501,"date":"2024-07-31T18:07:32","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T16:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=18501"},"modified":"2026-10-09T00:57:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T22:57:49","slug":"fish-farming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/fish-farming\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising Heat: A Deadly Weapon Targeting Fish Farming in Egypt"},"content":{"rendered":"

In July 2023, Sayed El-Imam (62, born in Port Said Governorate) was shocked by the death of six tonnes of “meagre<\/a>” fish at his farm in the Deeba Triangle area, which lies between Damietta and Port Said governorates and is administratively part of Damietta Governorate, as a result of an unprecedented<\/a> rise in temperatures, despite his keenness to use paddlewheel aerators to stir the water<\/a> and dissolve oxygen in the ponds. However, that did not prevent his losses.<\/p>\n

El-Imam tells Zawia3: “I have farmed meagre, sea bream and sea bass all my life, but last year I estimated my losses at about EGP 600,000 (USD 12,441.88) as a result of fish deaths, which pushed me to increase the number of paddlewheel aerators in the ponds to 12 paddlewheels imported from abroad, which I began installing in 2021, in addition to oxygen tubes. However, all of this did not prevent the effects on the fish of the high temperatures, which exceeded forty degrees in the farms’ water, as salinity levels rose excessively, while neighbouring farms are witnessing daily fish deaths.”<\/p>\n

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According to the organisation<\/a> IEIDEAS, paddlewheel aerators raise the level of dissolved oxygen in pond water and get rid of ammonia gas, and also help push the pond water, with the plankton and organic matter it carries, towards the drain; so it is preferable to install them in the third of the pond on the irrigation side.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to testimonies of fish farm owners we spoke with, most farmers do not report fish deaths, because they sell the dead fish to restaurants or as salted fish, without indicating that they are unfit, while a smaller proportion of farmers report and bury the dead fish.<\/p>\n

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A study<\/a> published by the Lakes and Fish Resources Protection and Development Agency in 2014 revealed that fish differ in their ability to tolerate different salinity levels, depending on their species. Fish can be divided according to the water salinity of their growth and reproduction into (freshwater fish, saltwater fish and brackish-water fish), while the pH expresses whether the aquatic medium is acidic or alkaline. According to the study, fish prefer a slightly alkaline aquatic medium of 7.5 to 8, and the hardness of fresh water suitable for fish farming should not be less than 12.5 milligrams\/litre of calcium carbonate.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Recommended reading:<\/strong> Aswan: A Deadly Heatwave Claims Dozens of Lives Amid Power Cuts<\/a><\/p>\n

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Paddlewheel aerators<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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Why Do Fish Die?<\/h3>\n

Medhat El-Okda, executive director of the Arflon aquaculture company, explains the deaths that sometimes occur among farmed fish: when oxygen in the pond drops below four milligrams per litre, the fish’s appetite for feed decreases, and when it falls below one milligram per litre, this stresses the fish, and they begin to hit the water surface in search of oxygen, while if oxygen stays below one milligram per litre for a long time, the fish are exposed to death, depending on their number in the pond.<\/p>\n

He tells Zawia3 that “optimal temperatures differ according to the type of fish. Tilapia live at temperatures ranging between 26 and 28 degrees, while other species such as salmon live at temperatures below 18 degrees”, pointing out that oxygen tablets are temporary solutions, producing it through a chemical reaction with carbonates in the water, as they help for no more than half an hour in intensive ponds, and are used only in ordinary and open farming to give time to switch on the appropriate aeration method for the pond.<\/p>\n

El-Okda provides the necessary equipment and filters for his farm in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, which is supported with monitoring and control elements to help him stay alert to any potential danger.<\/p>\n

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Individual Experiences<\/h3>\n

Sayed El-Imam, who rents a fish farm in the Deeba Triangle<\/a> area, relies on bags and canisters of oxygen, paddlewheel aerators and water-lifting machines to try to mitigate the negative effects of rising temperatures on his farm and his sons’ farms. He used oxygen powder for fish during 2023, which cost about EGP 1,500 (USD 31.10) per pack, but he cannot find it available this year.<\/p>\n

He says: “I spend about EGP 100,000 (USD 2,073.92) a month on oils and diesel to run the machines and paddlewheels that operate my farm, at a time when the same cost was estimated at EGP 25,000 (USD 518.48) last year, in addition to periodic maintenance estimated at EGP 10,000 (USD 207.39).”<\/p>\n

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There is no announced price for oxygen powder, as it is one of the products rarely traded in Egyptian markets; but according to Amazon, the prices<\/a> of oxygen pumps<\/a> range between EGP 520 and EGP 1,304 (USD 10.78 to USD 27.05). Zawia3’s reporter contacted the pharmaceutical and industrial preparations company Phytobiochem<\/a> by phone to ask about the prices of oxygen water and powder for farms, but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mahmoud Ragab, in his thirties, who rents a 35-feddan fish farm in the Deeba Triangle area, also relies on lifting machines as a main means of changing the water of the fish ponds and introducing oxygen so that the fish do not suffocate because of rising temperatures during the summer, from June to September every year.<\/p>\n

Ragab has been farming sea bream for 20 years, and began farming shrimp last year, 2023. High temperatures are a source of dread for him every year, for fear of his fish dying, which pushes him to rely on lifting machines to renew the water and dissolve oxygen in order to preserve his production, which takes about three years of farming.<\/p>\n

He tells Zawia3: “My father introduced lifting machines into the farm forty years ago; however, they need periodic maintenance costing about EGP 4,000, after it was EGP 3,000 last year, and without them the fish suffocate and die.” He adds that they run on diesel, stirring the water and dissolving oxygen, whose levels usually drop while humidity rises during the night hours from 12 midnight until six in the morning, so that the fish do not suffocate.<\/p>\n

Ragab does not use oxygen tablets, as they are an emergency solution, nor paddlewheels, because electricity has not been connected to his farm and other farms in the Deeba Triangle area, according to him.<\/p>\n

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According to data<\/a> from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics issued in April 2022, fish production amounted to 2.01 million tonnes in 2020, compared with 2.03 million tonnes in 2019, a decrease of 1.4%. This is due to a decrease in the production of fish farms, while fish farms accounted for 78.9% of fish production, followed by lakes at 11.8%, then marine waters at 5%, fresh water at 4%, then rice fields at 0.3% of total fish production.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Ragab points to a decline in fish growth rates during the summer. He says: “Although we put out feed for the fish daily, the high heat prevents them from converting it, which makes them lean, so they only gain weight during winter, in addition to algae growing in the ponds because of the high temperatures.”<\/p>\n

For his part, Mohamed El-Bahnasawy, professor of fish biology at the Faculty of Science, Damietta University, explains the effect of rising temperatures on fish, especially from June to September, as it leads salinity levels to break the 50% barrier, at a time when the optimal salinity is 30%, which affects their growth.<\/p>\n

He points to the inverse relationship between temperature and the rate of oxygen dissolution in water: the higher the former, the lower the latter, which may cause the suffocation of fish that breathe the oxygen dissolved in water, pushing them towards the water surface in an attempt to breathe atmospheric air, which affects feeding rates, metabolism and growth.<\/p>\n

According to El-Bahnasawy, tilapia adapt to temperatures ranging from 28 to 30 degrees, but sea bream and sea bass cannot tolerate this level of high temperatures, which helps bacterial and viral diseases spread and affects the fish’s immunity and resistance to disease, as the gills become infected and fall off along with the skin and fins, and blood clots and ulcers appear on the skin. He attributes the change in the colour of the water in some ponds in the Deeba Triangle area to the growth and spread of algae, as a result of rising temperatures and not changing the water, which affects oxygen levels in it.<\/p>\n

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According to a study<\/a> prepared by the Damietta branch of the Fish Resources Authority, the total area of Lake Manzala is about 70,000 feddans, divided into two parts separated by the International Road: the Deeba Triangle area and the main lake. The approximate area of the Deeba Triangle is about 43,000 feddans, including 27,000 feddans of fish farms, numbering 1,000 farms that produce the best-known species of fish: sea bream, sea bass, the mullet family, sehili, shrimp, meagre and eels. The Triangle’s farms alone produce 55,000 tonnes of fish annually, according to engineer Magdy Abdel Wahed, an official at the Fish Resources Authority, speaking to Zawia3.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to an official at the Fish Resources Authority, who preferred not to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media and the press, optimal temperatures for fish range from 20 to 25 degrees, at a time when temperatures during the past month of July exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, causing salinity and ammonia levels to rise and the colour of the water to turn red, as the optimal salinity ranges from 20% to 25% and its change indicates that it has exceeded 50%.<\/p>\n

Recommended reading:<\/strong> Egypt Buries Its Lungs Under Concrete… The Government Continues Cutting Down Trees<\/a><\/p>\n

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Mounting Losses<\/h3>\n

The load-shedding plan that the government in Cairo implemented in July 2023 cast its shadow on fish farmers, increasing their financial burdens and pushing those whose farms run on electric generators to replace them with others running on diesel or to use paddlewheels, which burdened them financially, according to the Fish Resources Authority official speaking to us.<\/p>\n

He adds: “The quantities of dead fish increased because of high temperatures starting from last July, with the mullet family and meagre suffering the most deaths; however, the authority does not count the dead quantities, as not all those affected inform us of what happened”, pointing out that “the quantity of dead fish in Damietta Governorate alone exceeded 50 tonnes according to our inspection, and Damietta Governorate in northern Egypt is among the governorates with the most fish farms, as the area of rented fish farms is 35,000 feddans with about 4,000 farms, and each feddan produces about a tonne of fish.”<\/p>\n

Fish markets saw prices rise over the past month, coinciding with the rise in prices. Magdy El-Badawy, former head of the fish division at the Damietta Chamber of Commerce, reveals a 10% increase in fish prices as a result of the death of quantities of fish on farms; however, this led to a 30% decline in purchasing power, with citizens buying their fish by the piece rather than by the kilo. A kilo of meagre costs between EGP 110 and EGP 130 (USD 2.28 to USD 2.69), sea bass between EGP 300 and EGP 320 (USD 6.22 to USD 6.64), and sea bream from EGP 200 to EGP 250 (USD 4.14 to USD 5.18), while some of those affected sell dead fish to some restaurants or sell it salted, according to what the head of the fish division told us.<\/p>\n

Those high prices pushed Samira Ali, in her sixties, who lives in Cairo Governorate, to stop buying expensive fish and limit herself to buying small shabbar and sardines, given their lower prices compared with other varieties, to suit her limited income, which does not exceed EGP 6,000 a month.<\/p>\n

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According to the prices<\/a> issued by the Obour wholesale market today, Wednesday, a kilo of tilapia ranges between EGP 61 and EGP 63 (USD 1.26 to USD 1.31), while Nile perch ranges from EGP 120 to EGP 240 (USD 2.49 to USD 4.98), sole from EGP 210 to EGP 410 (USD 4.35 to USD 8.50), morgan from EGP 90 to EGP 130 (USD 1.87 to USD 2.69), jumbo shrimp from EGP 420 to EGP 660 (USD 8.71 to USD 13.69), mullet from EGP 100 to EGP 140 (USD 2.07 to USD 2.90), and grouper from EGP 100 to EGP 260 (USD 2.07 to USD 5.39) per kilogram.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Solutions<\/h3>\n

The rise in water temperatures year after year forces farmers to look for alternative solutions to deal with this crisis so that the resulting damage does not worsen; using paddlewheels, irrigation machines, and oxygen tablets and powder may be the best solutions for them to maintain suitable oxygen levels for the fish so they do not die. According to fish biology professor Mohamed El-Bahnasawy, some fish farms recorded deaths this year because of high temperatures, but paddlewheels may be sufficient for some farms and not all of them, as they need to change the pond water constantly, which pushes them to use water machines, raising farming costs because they run on diesel.<\/p>\n

El-Bahnasawy advises farmers to change the water continuously, especially if they do not own paddlewheels, and to monitor it periodically to identify any bacterial or viral infections that may appear, while isolating infected fish and maintaining oxygen levels in the water.<\/p>\n

In the same context, the Fish Resources Authority official points to the need for farmers to use paddlewheels, increase irrigation and drainage openings in the ponds and monitor continuously to detect any diseases that may occur. He sees that although paddlewheels are a suitable solution, their cost is high and not all farmers can afford them, while oxygen tablets are rarely resorted to, especially as they have not yet spread.<\/p>\n

According to Magdy Abdel Wahed, an official at the Fish Resources Authority, Damietta sector, the impact of temperatures and deaths occurs in fish farms that farm the bottom-dwelling fish sea bream and sea bass, which pushes breeders to resort to some solutions such as paddlewheels, spraying oxygen powder and oxygen water, in addition to using irrigation machines and pumping oxygen into the water, as well as installing boat motors inside fish ponds to move and renew the water, with 25% of farms using paddlewheels. He pointed to the negative impact of drainage water located near fish farms, which dumps its waste into the water.<\/p>\n

Fish farmers in Egypt are working to adapt to climate change and rising temperatures using traditional alternatives such as “irrigation machines and regular water changes”, or innovative ones such as “paddlewheel aerators, oxygen pumps and their solvents”. However, these steps, even if they have reduced death rates on some farms, do not prevent them, according to the experts we spoke with, and there are no official statistics on the volume of deaths on Egypt’s fish farms, even though they have now become one of the main sources of fish production in Egypt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most Egyptian fish farmers do not report heat-related fish deaths, selling dead fish to restaurants or as salted fish without disclosing they are unfit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":10178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1076,413],"tags":[19673,19674,19672,19670,19676,19671,12017,19677,19675,19678],"kateb":[4325],"class_list":["post-18501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-env","category-society-en","tag-aquaculture-and-climate-change","tag-damietta-fish-farms","tag-deeba-triangle-fish-farms","tag-fish-farming-egypt","tag-fish-prices-egypt","tag-heatwave-fish-deaths","tag-lake-manzala","tag-load-shedding-and-fish-farmers","tag-paddlewheel-aerators","tag-sea-bream-and-sea-bass-farming","kateb-sohad-elkhodary"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/\u0627\u0633\u062a\u0632\u0631\u0627\u0639-\u0633\u0645\u0643\u064a.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18501","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\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18501"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18502,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18501\/revisions\/18502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18501"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=18501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}