Fish production, fishing gears, economic and social impacts of the purification and development project on Lake Manzalah fisheries, Egypt

Egyptian fisheries including aquaculture, play a vital role in the national economy through its contribution to employment and income generation, foreign exchange earnings, and providing food and nutritional security to the people. All studies dealing with stock assessment and fisheries management in Egypt confirmed the over-exploitation situation for almost all commercial stocks which led to a serious decline in fish production from marine and inland fisheries resources. Egyptian lakes especially Delta lakes have been supporting rich and diversified fisheries and thus are critically important to the country for their food security and livelihood. Lake Manzalah, the largest Delta lake and the second in fish production after Burrulus Lake, is an important source of fish production in Egypt. In the last 50 years, the lake faced severe difficulties that retarded its environmental and fisheries development. The most serious one is the reduction of its area, pollution, overfishing, illegal and destructive fishing methods. This work will discuss the fisheries status of Lake Manzalah during the years 2006 to 2020 including the period of purification and development of the lake which started in mid-2017. The fishing gear, fish production, and the socio-economic indicators for the development and purification processes will be discussed.