Regional review on status and trends in aquaculture development in the Near East and North Africa – 2020

Abstract

The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region covers 18 countries and territories: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara and Yemen with a total land area of 9.8 million km2. The region is mostly arid or semi-arid but has extensive coastlines and includes a wide range of different economies from high income, hydrocarbon-rich countries to low-income states, some of which have been severely impacted by conflict in recent years. NENA aquaculture production was worth USD 2.3 billion in 2018, two-thirds of which came from Egypt and around one-quarter from Saudi Arabia. Production has grown rapidly since the 1980s, more than doubling over ten years and increasing by 50 percent over the five years preceding 2018 to reach 1.7 million tonnes. Egyptian fish farms accounted for 92 percent of production and Saudi Arabia for 4.2 percent while other significant producers included Iraq (25 737 tonnes), Tunisia (21 826 tonnes), Algeria (5 100 tonnes), the United Arab Emirates (3 350 tonnes) and the Syrian Arab Republic (2 350 tonnes). Although current aquaculture production levels are low, all these countries have high ambitions with further developing the sector, often for improved food self-sufficiency.