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World population at present stands at approximately 7 billion and is expected to cross the
9 billion mark by the middle of this century. Though, food for the growing population is
believed to be adequately produced the quality of food remains a question. Food quality
depends on the quality of protein, and the aquatic food, especially the fish, has to be ensured
to improve the quality of living. The harvest from the seas and fishable waters has been on the
decline. Aquaculture, whether through traditional practices or through high technology
industries, has provided practical and economically feasible solutions to rescue the declining
wild catches of food fish . Currently, the aquaculture industry contributes to over 50% of the
fish landed in the market on a global scale. Interestingly, Asia holds the lion’s share by
contributing more than 77% of the world fish production. However, contribution to
aquaculture by the Middle East and North Africa, popularly known as the MENA region, is
not so encouraging as only five countries; Egypt, Iran, Israel, Nigeria and Iraq and Turkey
have a traditional inclination to aquaculture. The remaining countries in the MENA contribute
to less than 1% of the world aquaculture production. Research in the field of aquaculture has
been a traditional strong hold in Israel, Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.
The challenges in the path of developing aquaculture as a food production sector have to be
addressed by the experts in the region. An account of aquaculture status and research needs in
the Middle East and North Africa is presented here with several renowned aquaculture
experts of the region contributing either detailed chapters, or expert commentaries on
aquaculture health. |
