The ASA-IM Middle East Aquaculture Program

ASA-IM's aquaculture program in the Middle East is focused on two major fish-producing  countries in the region, namely, Egypt and Turkey.  As with all ASA-IM programs, efforts center on promoting the use of soybeans and soybean products, in order to enhance feed quality and overall efficiency and profitability for the companies with which we work.

All ASA-IM aqua activities in the region are closely coordinated with ASA-IM's worldwide efforts in, for example, countries such as China, the Philippines, Viet Nam and India.  

In Egypt and Turkey, ASA-IM conducts feeding trials in collaboration with local aqua companies, regularly hosts technical seminars, and arranges one-on-one in-company consultations.

Technical areas covered by ASA-IM-sponsored aqua experts in their interactions with (marine and fresh water) fish farm and fish feed plant operators, include: 

  • The use of high quality, nutritionally balanced soy-based feeds for fresh water fish to achieve more sustainable and environmentally friendly production;
  • The use of dehulled high protein ("Hi-Pro") soybean meal and value-added soybean products such as soy protein concentrates and soy oil to replace fish meal and fish oil in marine fish diets;
  • Training in proper formulation of feeds;
  • The ecological aspects of fertilizing and feeding regimes, in order to improve efficiency and environmentally friendly operations;
  • Water use and management and biological mass in bodies of water;
  • The economic performance of different strategies and feeding regimes (optimizing growth and feed conversion);
  • Using water to both grow fresh water fish and irrigate crops, in order to increase water productivity;
  • Outreach, in terms of promoting the role of pond aquaculture in creating sustainable rural economies and social stability;
  • Environmental impact assessments of feeds, using life cycle assessment; and
  • Basic quality control in aquaculture feed processing.

ASA-IM also occasionally organizes courses outside the region for Middle East aqua producers.   Examples of such training courses during the last few years include:

  • Two aquaculture short courses at Auburn University, USA for one week each for Egyptian and Turkish producers (2006);
  • A two-day course on fish nutrition in Thailand, including visits to a Tilapia hatchery and river caged Tilapia production operation (2006);
  • Feeds and pet food extrusion short course at Texas A&M, USA for 12 Egyptian aqua-culturists (2007); and
  • Fish feed processing short courses in Kansas, USA for two teams from Turkey and Egypt (2008).

Technical experts who have participated in our programs in recent years include:

  • Bob Annan (Wenger Manufacturing, Inc. [extrusion equipment], USA)
  • Dr. Michael Cremer (ASA-IM worldwide aqua coordinator, USA)
  • Dr. Allen Davis (Auburn University, USA)
  • Dr. James Diana (University of Michigan, USA)
  • Ms. Helene Echevin (ASA-IM aqua consultant, Mauritius)
  • Dr. Eleni Fountoulaki (HCMR Laboratory of Fish Nutrition, Greece)
  • Dr. S. Kaushik (INRA, France)
  • Dr. Yannis Kotzamanis (HCMR Laboratory of Fish Nutrition, Greece)
  • Mr. Thomas Landert (Bühler AG, Switzerland)
  • Dr. Chorn Lim (United States Department of Agriculture)
  • Mr. Nigel Lindley, (Wenger Manufacturing, Inc., USA)
  • Mr. Lukas Manomaitis (ASA-IM aqua consultant, Thailand)
  • Mr. Timothy O'Keefe (ASA-IM aqua consultant, USA)
  • Mr. Edward Perez (Agriculture University of Norway)
  • Dr. Mian Riaz (Texas A&M University, USA)
  • Dr. Nabil Said (InstaPro, USA)
  • Dr. Imad Saud (AUB, Lebanon)
  • Mr. Robert Sunderland (Wenger Manufacturing, Inc., USA)

Links to Aqua-related technical publications

Full fat soybean meal utilization by fish -
http://www.asianfisheriessociety.org/modules/wfdownloads/visit.php

Turkish Feed Association - http://www.turkiyeyembir.org.tr

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - http://www.fao.org/

The Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) - http://www.feap.info/feap/

Fish Farmer Magazine - http://www.fishfarmer-magazine.com

All About Feed -  http://www.allaaboutfeed.net

World Aquaculture Society - https://www.was.org

American Fisheries Society - http://www.fisheries.org/afs/index.htm

Chicago Board of Trade - http://www.cbot.com

Online Manual Provides Free Technology to Aquaculture Producers

Aquaculture in Egypt

Egypt has one of the most advanced aquaculture development programs in Africa and has the highest output of farm-raised fresh water fish of any African country.    Aquaculture development in Egypt has taken many forms ranging from lake stocking to fish production in hatcheries, enclosures, ponds, cages and tank systems.  Aquaculture production rose from 12,400 MT in 1977 to 540,000 MT in 2005.  The latest production estimate is 800,000 MT consisting mainly of Tilapia in addition to Carp, Mullet, African Cat fish, Seabream, Seabass and some shrimp.  Egypt is the 2nd largest producer of Tilapia after China and the 9th largest producer of aquaculture fish.  Tilapia is an omnivorous fish that can be fed on an all-vegetable protein diet based on soybean meal.  Feed ingredients also include soy oil.  The soybean meal level in Tilapia feed diets can reach as high as 50%.

Prior to ASA-IM's technical activities, soybean meal inclusion levels in fish feed in Egypt did not exceed 20% and almost all feeds contained fish meal and other animal protein byproducts. Presently, all feeds are based on all-vegetable protein, and the soybean meal inclusion level has risen to at least 40%.  Soy usage in fish feed in Egypt exceeds 200,000 MT of mostly Hi-Pro soybean meal, usually from the U.S. or processed in-country from U.S. soybeans.

Recent, Important Events

In 2006, ASA-IM conducted two Tilapia feeding trials at the World Fish Center in Abbasa and at the Kafr-El- Sheikh Aquaculture Cooperative. These trials demonstrated higher economical production using the soybean meal based diets, compared to commercial feeds containing other ingredients and lower soybean meal inclusion.

In 2007, ASA-IM partnered with the Fish Council of the Egyptian Agribusiness Association (EAGA) to conduct a workshop on cage aquaculture, to which key stakeholders were invited. Along with 12 internationally-renowned experts, two days of open debate and scientific discussion about cage aquaculture took place.  ASA-IM experts advised that better feed formulation and feed production technologies such as extrusion will contribute to reducing feed wastage and related pollution near cage sites.  At the end of this workshop, the minister of agriculture in Egypt held a two- hour meeting with the entire ASA-IM team, during which all aspects of aquaculture development in Egypt were discussed, including how to plan for cage aquaculture and regulate production to assure minimum impact on the environment.   Based on the minister's request, ASA-IM later submitted a summary document with a list of recommendations that had been discussed in the workshop and at the minister's meeting.  Steps are now being taken to model cage aquaculture, determine best cage locations, systems and designs and to set up standards, regulations and inspection systems.

Aquaculture in Turkey

Turkey is the second largest producer of marine fish in Europe after Greece.  Turkey produces 24% of the total European marine aquaculture, mainly seabass and seabream.  Trout is the only farmed fresh water fish in Turkey. Estimated total Turkish aquaculture fish production is 145,000 tons.

Previous to approximately 2002, Turkish fish companies were using non-dehulled SBM in their feeds and, for this reason, were limiting the usage of soybean meal overall to somewhere around 5%-10%.  With support from ASA-IM, visiting fish nutrition experts began conducting workshops and discussion sessions that focused on fish nutrition, digestibility parameters and fish feed formulations.  Examples were given from other countries of fish meal being replaced with SBM and the importance of using dehulled Hi-Pro, rather than non-dehulled meal.  In response, Turkish producers increased the inclusion level of soybean meal in marine fish diets  up to 20%-25% (depending on species) and began to increasingly rely on extruded fish feeds, rather than pelleted fish feed which had been predominantly used.  These improvements - leading, of course, to increased profitability - have resulted in significant new investments in fish feed production, including purchases of extrusion equipment; as recently as 12 years ago there was no extruded fish feed production in the country or, indeed, in the region and, today, the Turkish fish feed industry is producing almost 100% extruded feeds.    Value added soybean products like soy protein concentrates, to replace fish meal, are also used.

For further information on the ASA-IM Middle East Aquaculture Program, you may contact:
In Egypt:  Dr. Mohamed Sherif msherif@asaimmea.org
In Turkey:  Mr. Sirri Kayhan skayhan@asaimmea.org

ASA-IM Sirri Kayhan and Dr. Mohamed Sherif are taking tour to turkish fish farmers
in Turkey with Egyptian team.

Dr. Michael Cremer , Mrs. Catalina Valencia,
Mr. Virgil Miedema and ASA-IM Sirri Kayhan
are visiting the largest and fully automatic controlled seabass farm in Bodrum, Turkey.
   

Same team is visiting one of the largest
fish feed producer called Camli feed Co.
in Izmir, Turkey.

Dr. Sadasivam Kaushik is helping the largest fish feed and fish producer of Turkey called
Kilic Holding for fish diet formulation.
   

Turkish fish feed producers are in IGP fish feed
manufacturing and nutrition short course in Kansas.