ASA-IM Egypt Aquaculture Workshop
Addresses Environmental Issues

May 25, 2007 - An ASA-IM Egypt workshop on the future of Egyptian cage aquaculture that was hosted in cooperation with the Fish Council of the Egyptian Agribusiness Association is paving the way for the government to reverse a recent decision that removed thousands of aquaculture cages from two Nile River branches. Within days of the May 12 -13 conference, ASA-IM Egypt started seeing positive results of the workshop and related meetings.
     Dr. Mahmoud Abou Zeid, the minister of irrigation who was behind the removal of cages and who staunchly opposed aquaculture activities in the Nile, was quoted in local newspapers, saying cage aquaculture standards and measures will be defined for the Nile. Those standards will guarantee environmental protection and coordination between the ministries of agriculture, environment, health and the governorates, the press reported.
     Newspapers that published the minister’s comments also quoted ASA-IM consultant Mohamed Sherif, saying the ASA-IM workshop recommendations were based on sound scientific information and standards for cage aquaculture and that the new standards and regulations should define the carrying capacity, suitable sites, cage numbers, feeding methods and feed specifications.
     The workshop program included presentations by 12 experts invited by ASA-IM from the U.S., France, the Netherlands, Thailand, U.K. and Egypt. Discussions focused on the impact of cage aquaculture on the environment, standards and regulations for cage aquaculture, the effect of feed quality on aquaculture waste and modeling cages aquaculture along the Nile.
     The workshop was opened by the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, and participants represented the ministries of agriculture, irrigation, environment and health, along with prominent aquaculture experts and regulators.

From left: Dr. Barbaros Celikkol, Professor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire; ASA-IM Regional Director Chris Andrew and His Excellency Mr. Amin Abaza, Egypt's Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation.

ASA-IM Egypt is making progress toward reversing a government decision that removed thousands of aquaculture cages from branches of the Nile River over environmental concerns.