Yomna Elshamy

Mohamed Sameh El-Sayed, who runs Al-Zohour's three tilapia hatcheries in Egypt alongside his father, Engineer Sameh El-Sayed, has faith that the country’s tilapia sector will continue to grow. 

Omega Farm in Fujairah is one of pioneers of fish farming in the UAE, combining innovation, sustainability, and a strong focus on research and development.

A project in Duhok, in Iraqi Kurdistan, aims to produce up to 60,000 tonnes of carp a year, offering economic hope and improved food security in this fragile region.

Lana Fish Company produces tilapia, carp, ornamental fish and even rainbow trout – despite being located in the Saudi Arabian desert – as executive director, Ibrahim Al-Madbouly, explains.

Mazen Elsawaf, technical director of Maher fish farm in Saudi Arabia and a strong advocate of RAS, represents a new generation of ambitious young Egyptians in aquaculture.

Mohamed Salah Ibrahim runs Al Sahaba Hatchery, one of the oldest tilapia hatcheries in Kafr El-Sheikh, and continues the legacy of his father, Dr Salah Ibrahim, one of Egypt’s pioneers of mono-sex tilapia production.

Egypt has huge potential to increase its production of marine species, in sea cages, coastal ponds and well-based inland farms according to Dr Mohamed Abdel Rahim, one of the country’s leading aquaculture experts.

Despite the turbulent events that Iraq has witnessed over the past decades, there is still some hope for the country’s tiny aquaculture sector, according to Hatim Al-Hamdani, the head of the Rawafed Foundation for the Development and Production of Aquatic Life…

Dr Ahmed Nasr Allah and Mahmoud Rashad discuss how WorldFish’s Empowering Women Fish Retailers in Egypt (EWFIRE) project has overcome challenges to help improve the livelihoods of female fish traders.

Despite scepticism from some parts of the mainstream aquaculture sector, aquaponics can make a meaningful contribution to global food security, as well as a flourishing business, according to Dr Hesham Haggag – founder of Egypt’s first aquaponics business.

Dr Hamada Elkady, executive director of Delta Farm, believes that the Egyptian desert has the potential to be a successful shrimp producing region.

After gaining her master’s in aquaculture in Gran Canaria, Nourhan Ali has gained an impressive range of farming experience in Egypt and is now a consultant for the Saudi Aquaculture Society.

An Egyptian team has succeeded in developing a smart device to estimate the feed intake required for each tank on a fish farm, helping improve productivity and water quality.

Ahmed Al Sharaki is one of the pioneers of aquaculture in Egypt, who has worked in the public and private sectors in mono-sex tilapia culture for four decades. He currently runs the two Almadinah hatcheries.

Eslam Elsamadony is one of the pioneers of Egypt’s biofloc aquaculture sector, helping to transform a struggling farm into a system capable of producing 50 tonnes of tilapia a year.

Basel Ahmed is the founder and CEO of Octopus, which claims to be the, “first scientific aquaculture initiative in Egypt and the Arab region that is managed by youth and covers production, disease control and environmental awareness."

Yasmin Abdullah is a researcher at the Fish Farming and Technology Institute at Suez Canal University and also works in one of Egypt’s largest national aquaculture projects.

Mohamed Adel, chairman and managing director of the Suez Canal Aquaculture Company, offers an insight into one of the most ambitious aquaculture projects ever to have been constructed in Africa.

27-year-old Shady Hamdy owns and operates the Ibn Al-Nafis tilapia hatchery – alongside Dr Tamer Bastweesy – in Kafr El Sheikh, Egypt.

Alaa and Medhat Elokda are producing tilapia and mullet in a high-density RAS facility which they have designed and built themselves.