FISHERIES OF THE SOUTH-EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN S£A ALONG THE EGYPTIAN COAST

FISHERIES OF THE SOUTH-EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN S£A

ALONG THE EGYPTIAN COAST
SOVIET-EGYPTIAN EXPEDITION
1970-1971
Edited By
d. A.. AL-KHOLY AND So K. EL-WAKEEL
Institute oj Oc~anpgraphy and Fisheries

Academy of Scientific Research and Techn%gy

A. R. Egypt

Editoriql Secretary
H. M. BOTROS

INTRODUCTION
The Mediterranean Sea fisheries play a very imoprtant role in the
national economy of the Arab Republic of Egypt. A substantial catch
increase took place in the fifties and at the beginning of the sixties and was
attributed to the increase of the fishing fleet and its mechanization. In 1962
the fish and prawn catch near the Egyptian shores accounted for 378 thousand
centners; the biggest amount for the whole history of fisheries.
In 1963 the marine prdoucts output tended to decrease, a tr~nd which
has continued up till now. A special sharp decrease ,was in the sardipe catch
(from 182 thousand centners in 1962 down to 12 thousand centners in 1966)
and the prawn catch (from 71 thousand centners down to 27 thousand centners
in the respective years). In 1966 the total ARE catch in the Mediterranean
Sea accounted for 150 thousnad centner~.
Such decline in the marine fisheries called for enhancing the fish
investigations. Hence, in 1965-1966 the first Soviet-Egyptian Experidition
took place on RjV “Ichthiolog”.
The results of ,the expendition allowed to assess the condition of the
marine resources within the period of study and find out certain causes for
the drop. In the opinion of Egyptian specialists the main reason of the
sharp decrease in the number of commercial units was the intensification
of fisheries and utilizatiOIl of more up-to-date fishing gear. (c.f. EI-Zarka and
Koura, 1965).
In 1965-1966, the High Aswan Dam was erected. This led to a sharp
drop of the river discharge which used to playa major role in the formation
of the bilogical productivity in the southeastern part of the Mediterran~an Sea.
The ,drop in the Nile discharge :;tnd the change of the oceanographic
coniditions in the. area under study affected badly the conditions of existence
and multiplication of marine organisms.
The joint fishing efforts and the decrease of the Nile flver discharge
resulted in a further catch drop which in 1969 accounted only for 85 thousand
centners of fish and prawns.
. The 6th ~ssion. of the Soviet-Egyptian Commission on fisheries, held in
Cair<? ,during Febr1JaI:Y 1970, took fl decision to, set an expedition with a vi~w
to evaluate the state of marine fisheries resources in connection with the
considerable change of the hydrological regime.