(AFP photo)
By Mohamed Ayyad
In his campaign platform, presidential candidate and former defense minister Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi seeks to bolster the fishing industry by developing a new vision for the Nile, creating a natural pasture for fisheries along the shorelines of the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
According to Sisi’s program, he seeks to increase the rates of aquaculture (or aquafarming) in the Nile through the growing of algae, without interfering in the food industry, helping increase fish production and protecting the Nile from pollution.
Sisi’s vision includes reforming and developing fisheries through by granting small and micro loans to allot for expansions. The plan will also work to promote investment in the refrigeration and frozen transportation sector to take advantage of improved fish production and related industries.
The programme also includes the development of legislation to remove all obstacles and open horizons to stimulate the production, distribution and export of fish.
Sisi said that Egypt is qualified to occupy a strong position in the field of aquaculture, which provides Egyptian people a major food source at an affordable price. He will allocate specified areas in the coastal governorates to be used for aquaculture.
Sisi will work to make Egyptian lakes a high-value source of fishery wealth, and raise the living standards of fishermen and their families, providing them with the latest equipment, and develop international trade in the fishing industry.
