338.3 1 ^0 [March 



IV 

 Egyptian Fisheries 



IN Egypt as iu other Mohamedan countries fish forms an important 

 part of the food of the people. Fish diet is not enjoined upon 

 the followers of Islam by their religion, but, from firmly established 

 ideas as to its virtues, its use is universal amongst the rich and 

 poor of the country, and it follows that the fishing industry is one 

 of considerable importance. 



The Nile itself and the network of irrigation canals throughout 

 the cultivable parts of the Delta furnishes the adjacent population 

 with a supply of food. In the case of the larger towns and more 

 populous districts this supply is augmented by fish from Birket El- 

 Keroun, the supposed residue of the ancient Lake Moeris, from the 

 brackish lakes on the northern coast line and from the Mediterranean 

 and the Eed Sea. The local supply from the Nile and its canals, in 

 fact all fresh- water fish, is as a rule eaten fresh, and the same may be 

 said for the marine supply coming from Suez and Alexandria ; that 

 from the brackish lakes consists mainly of salted fish, a very small pro- 

 portion of the lake fish being sold for fresh consumption in the imme- 

 diate neighbourhood. The reason for this is due partly to the difficulty 

 of transport, there being no quick service of trains nor means for 

 keeping fish fresh over a long railway journey, but the chief reason 

 is the strong demand there is for a form of salt fish caMed fessikh, 

 made from grey mullet, the predominating fish of these localities. 

 Of the Nile species all are eaten fresh with the exception of Tetrodon 

 fahakct and Malapterurus, the poorer natives being the chief con- 

 sumers. The flesh of all is more or less muddy tasted or insipid. 

 Serra,nidae and Carangidae furnish the bulk of the edible species 

 from the Red Sea, and all the larger sized forms of the littoral fish 

 fauna are to be found in markets at Alexandria and Port Said. 

 The fresh water fishermen are, all of them, natives, who form no 

 distinctive class of the population. The sea-fisheries are pursued 

 chiefly by Neapolitan fishermen, who make Alexandria, Port Said 

 and Suez their headquarters. Native fishermen are to be found at 

 these places, but they seldom venture far from the shore. At Lake 

 Menzaleh, the largest and most inqjortant of the brackish lakes, the 

 fishing population is quite distinct from the fellaheen or agricultural 

 labourers. They live on two islands in the lake, and with few excep- 



