He has also served as a visiting professor to scientific institutions in Japan, Spain, Malaysia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Sultanate of Oman. Dr El-Sayed has authored and co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed publications on aquaculture and fisheries, in addition to four books and eight book chapters.
He has participated in many local, regional, and international aquaculture and fisheries research projects. Dr El-Sayed has also served as an aquaculture consultant for international organizations including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, the World Fisheries Trust (WFT), the WorldFish Centre, and the African Union’s InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).
He also serves as a member of the editorial board or advisory panel of a number of regional and internal journals and magazines, including: Aquaculture Research, Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research, International Aquafeed and Emirates Journal of Agricultural Sciences.
Tell us about your academic background and how you got into aquaculture.
I went to the Department of Oceanography, Faculty of Science, at the University of Alexandria, where I now work. I got my bachelor’s in General Oceanography. Then I got my Masters in Fish Biology. For my Master’s degree I studied the biology and biochemical composition of little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus) in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters. Then I went to the United States where in 1987 I got my PhD in Aquaculture (Tilapia nutrition).
Why did you switch from Oceanography to aquaculture?
Both are part of marine science but, at that time, aquaculture was just starting to gain momentum internationally. I went to Michigan State where I got a degree in fish nutrition, luckily working with tilapia.
When I came back to Egypt, I continued my career as a teacher/researcher at the University of Alexandria. Since then I have travelled to many countries, including Japan. I was there for one year as a visiting professor, and then I took a ten-year sabbatical in the Gulf States (Qatar and United Arab Emirates). Each of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge.
You used the phrase ‘luckily studying tilapia’ when describing your tenure at Michigan State University. Why?
I said ‘luckily’ because I was among the first studying tilapia. Also ‘luckily’ because tilapia, especially Nile tilapia, is our major local fish in Egypt, and I was dreaming to contribute to the development of tilapia culture industry in Egypt. Currently, Egypt produces close to one million tonnes of tilapia a year from aquaculture.
What other species of fish are farmed in Egypt?
There are sixteen species currently being farmed, but tilapia represents 65 percent of production; the other two major groups are mullets (210,000 tonnes) and carps (174,000 tonnes). We also produce about 35,000 tonnes of sea bream, 30,000 tonnes of sea bass, and about 25,000 tonnes of meagre. In addition, we have rabbit fish, prawn, shrimp, eel and African catfish (about 10,000 tonnes).
What are the most common farming systems employed?
Basically, we have semi-intensive systems involving earthen pond culture. Originally many of the farmer’s used fertilizer, but now most prefer to use locally produced extruded fish feed. We produce about 1.1 million tonnes of extruded feed: sinking or floating. Very few now use pressed or pelleted feed.
What is the main protein source in this fish feed?
Typically, we use soy beans (over 70 percent of protein in the diet) and then we have oil seed meals such as cottonseed, sunflower seed, and sesame seeds. We add some fishmeal, but not very much—it depends on the fish species.
We also produce feed for marine species, primarily sea bass and sea bream. I consult with some companies and now we export fish feed to other countries such as Lebanon (trout feed) and African countries including Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Zambia and Kenya(for Tilapia/African catfish).
For trout, sea bass and sea bream we add more fishmeal and fish oil, but for tilapia, which are herbivorous, we mostly use soybeans with very little fishmeal.
Most of the ingredients are imported because 90 percent of Egypt is desert. Most of the agriculture of Egypt is concentrated in the Nile delta.
Is aquaculture growing in Egypt?
Aquaculture has been the fastest growing animal food sector in Egypt for the past three decades. In the early 1990s, the production was about 60,000 tonnes-per-year. Now we produce close to 1.5 million tonnes/year, so the growth rate is 12-to-13 percent a year.
We now have huge aquaculture projects, constructed and operated by the Egyptian army and specialised companies, who have thousands of hectares in the Suez Canal region.
However, most of the available land for aquaculture is already in use, so I believe any increases in production in the future will be vertical: increasing productivity by using more intensive farming methods.
We currently have a lot of fish cages—hundreds and hundreds of metres of the Rosetta and Damietta Branches of the Nile River are covered with cages. We also grow fish in the rice fields, probably 5000 to 10,000 tonnes per year.
Probably the most problematic issue facing aquaculture in Egypt involves water, because the water comes from the Nile, which is fed by the African Great Lakes and Lake Tana in the Ethiopean Highlands. Egyptian law prohibits the use of irrigation water for aquaculture, although it can first be used for agriculture and then for aquaculture. So, fish farmers are forced to use the brackish water that comes mainly from the northern lakes and agricultural drainage water.
How much fish do Egyptians consume?
Around 50 percent of protein consumed in Egypt comes from fish, of which aquaculture produces 70 percent. Aquaculture has kept the price of fish stable for around 15 years. Prices have increased over the last five years due to the increases in the price of feed and other farming inputs.
Where does Egypt rank worldwide in terms of aquaculture?
In terms of world aquaculture, Egypt is ranked eighth, and in tilapia it is third. (China is ranked number one, followed by Indonesia at number two.) Uganda is second in Africa to Egypt in production of tilapia, producing 75,000 tonnes.
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