Cairo: Major General A.H. Hussein Farhat, the Executive Director of the Lake Protection and Development Authority, has expressed his congratulations to fishermen, fishing boat owners, and producers and exporters of marine fish products. This follows a positive response from the European inspection mission, conducted from 27 May to 7 June, which paves the way for Egyptian fish products from natural fisheries to be exported to the European Union, allowing entry into European markets in the coming days.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the European Union’s markets had been closed to Egyptian fish for over three years. This suspension followed an EU review in May 2021, resulting in a report with approximately 109 observations and twenty recommendations. The EU had identified deficiencies in Egypt’s regulatory and traceability systems for fish products, which did not meet EU requirements, causing export suspensions and significant financial losses for Egyptian exporters.

In response, the Lake Protec
tion and Development Authority undertook extensive efforts over three years to address these issues. The recent inspection mission reviewed the comprehensive regulatory activities in the fish production chain conducted by the authority, verifying the integration of these activities to ensure the quality and safety of exported Egyptian fish products.

Major General Farhat also extended his gratitude to the authority staff for their diligent work in preparing and implementing procedures to enhance the fishing, production, and monitoring system. Special acknowledgment was given to the working group from various departments, including fisheries, quality, veterinary, agreements, statistics, and ports, for their significant contributions in collaboration with different regions and landing ports.

The authority has been instrumental in establishing legislation and regulations that manage registration processes, design forms, and verify fishing licenses and catch data, requiring increased staffing and training at fis
hing ports. They have also developed a traceability system for freshwater lobster production and prepared landing sites for inspection missions, ensuring compliance with EU standards.

Efforts have been ongoing to engage with boat owners and facilities to address the observations from the 2021 mission report and improve the marine fish products export system. Following the successful opening of EU markets for natural fisheries, the authority aims to open export opportunities for farmed fish products as a strategic goal, which will significantly boost Egypt’s fish exports. Recording fish production sites in the coding and traceability system is a crucial step in achieving this objective, with hopes for continued progress and advancement in Egypt’s fish production sector.