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Sudan produces more than one million tones of fish annually, then why does Sudanese food culture favor red meat for white!!!

By: Ahmed Alhaj (Site Admin)


Khartoum, (sudanow. info) –Sudanese, the northern States in particular, seem to favor consuming red meats for the white meat, namely    fish and chickens despite  the  high nutritional and health value  associated with sea fruits and fish product. But even when consumed people tend to favor dry fish. The people specifically like dry fish which is cooked in different way in western, central and northern Sudan. The reason? No one appear to have a clear answer or, for that matter, scientific justifications!!


Still the question persists regarding the reasons why Sudanese favor red meats for the white ones: is it because of the climate?? Is it the tradition and taste?? Is it the prices?? Or is it just a matter of lack of awareness as to which of the two types is healthier for consumption and domestic use???




It becomes more vexing if one realizes that Sudan harbors formidable varieties of river and sea fish resources, types of fish with special taste and flavor as well as high nutritional value. But with such noticeable reluctance, the government is earnestly trying to encourage and boost investment in field of the fish sector. To this end the concerned Sudanese authorities embarked on organizing fishing festivals to boost a possible U-turn trend!!


It is within this context that the Al-Mabrouk Company for Integrated Solutions organized the 4th Fishing Festival during April 28-30 at Jabal ( Arabic for Mountains)  Awlia Reservoir, dozens of kilometers south of the national capital Khartoum,  under the motto  “Together to Increase Fish Consumption”.


The festival, organized under the patronage of Khartoum State Governor, tends to encourage investment in field of fish culture and increase the individual consumption of fish while preserving the water environment.


The activities of the jovial gathering includes fishing competitions , water sports such as boating, canoeing, water ball, in addition to motor cycle shows, sand sculpturing, exhibitions, lyrical and comedy plays shows.


 




But more question marks seem to pop as publications by the Ministry of  Animal and Fish Resources indicate that there are over a " hundred types of fish" in the country’s inland waters with various densities and different areas, all good for human consumption, and healthy as well .


All along the white and the Blue Rivers, and the River Nile- that is the juncture of the two rivers to from the Nile -Sudanese fishermen perform fishing using traditional fishing gears including active and passive gillnets, seine nets, trammel nets, long lines, hook and line, cast nets and baskets, wooden boats and sometimes engine boats, but still the consumption remains seasonal, and choosy when it comes to consumption of a catch of such a variety .




 


“We have been performing traditional fishing for decades and decades now. We have inherited this profession from our ancestors”, fishermen at Jabal ( Arabic for Mountains)  Awlia  area boost.


“Many people of the area have been practicing fishing for decades( may be as long as the river Nile has existed). The modern fishing was  introduced by the Greeks about a century ago when they were in Sudan and then Sudanese ventured the field after them”, They added.


Abundant fish or not, Sudanese food culture generally tend to consume red meat, no matter what the prices. However, the few people who consume white meat, namely fish, they search for it fresh at certain area as Al-Mawrada in Omduramn and at Jabal ( Arabic for Mountain)  Awlia (Arabic for Holy men) area.


The Jabal Awlia, is a huge water reservoir built behind the dam constructed early in the 20th century by the Egyptians to help contain the water during rainy season to be unleashed  and used during dry season. It is one of the few reservoirs behind White Nile. Thus it forms a huge lake that becomes an excellent breeding ground for all types of fish.


No accurate statistics about the volume of Sudan’s fish resources are yet available, but old statistics of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated it at 110, tones .


However, to evaluate the country’s fish reserve, the Sudanese Ministry of Animal and Fish Resources and the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) have signed an agreement to conduct a field surveys that are expected to evaluate the fish reserve at Sudan’s inland water , carry out a scientific classification, issue pictures Atlas, see how modern technologies could be transferred, build the country’s scientific capabilities in domain of evaluation of fish reserve, classify types of fishes in the Sudan   and introduce modern technologies in fish culture for the benefit of the concerned authorities and specialists within the Ministry of Animal and Fish Resources.


The work in this respect has started since 2009 and the researches disclosed that the exploited living volume at the Nubian Lake has not exceeded 2000 tones and that the current reserve is estimated at around 5000 tones




.


Sudanis receiving bilateral assistance in field of fish resources to help it in the development process where there is a joint project between the FAO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for training in field of fisheries at many areas in Sudan.   Additionally, the ministry has recently signed a number of agreements with Iran, Malaysia and Jordan to develop fish production in the country


It is withing the same context that an  agreement was signed last year during Halal (Islamic) food products exhibition in the Malaysian Agency for External Trade Development to develop Sudan’s fish exports including fishing through modern fishing means, fish production, and fish tinning and exporting.


 


 Ja’far Ibrahim Mohamed Abdalla, Director General of the Saving Company for Services and Investment and Bakry Yousif Al-Bur, Director General of DGC Company for Export and Import signed for Sudan, while Mohamed Khair-Eddin, Director General of Kaly Citang  signed for the Malaysian side.


Kamal Jubara Mohamed Salih, Deputy Head of Sudan’s Diplomatic Mission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Director of the Commercial and Economic Center at Sudan Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, said that this agreement would enable Sudan develop the country’s fish exports including fishing at freshwater in Khartoum, Nahral-Nil and Northern States besides fishing at the Red Sea.




He further explained that the agreement is in fact an invitation for the companies operating in fish sector in Sudan to make use of the Malaysian experience and technology, given the fact that the Malaysian companies have expressed readiness to transfer the Malaysian technology in field of fish development, industry, production and culture together with fisheries to Sudanese counterparts .


Director General of the Sudanese DGC Company Bakri Yusuf Al-Bur, on his part, said the agreement would support the Sudanese states, explaining that the first phase of the agreement would cover the local market.


Fish production in Sudan is done the traditional way, which explains why the produced amounts are very little and consumed at the local level, matter which does not avail the opportunity for exportation. Therefore, there is need for investment in the field to utilize the country’s fish reserve in commercial quantities through fish production and keeping.


Director of the General Fish Administration at the Ministry of Animal and Fish Resources Dr. Abdul-Hameed Mohamed Badr-Eddin stressed Sudan is all but ready  readiness to encourage investment in field of fish culture and to provide the necessary assistance for the sector.


He added that the model fish farm at Al-Shajara area in Khartoum was being rehabilitated to provide enough quantities for fish culture in investment partnership with the Arab Organization for Agriculture Development (OADA).


The  Organization Director General Dr. Tariq bin Mussa al-Dagaly said the organization’s studies and reports indicated that Arab countries have a surplus in fish production whose sufficiency rate amounted to 105 percent and that many Arab countries enjoy fishing potentialities.


He said that utilization of the fish potentials vary from one country to another, pointing out that there was over fishing at some Arab countries.


He further said that there were huge water surfaces in Sudan, explaining that if those water surfaces were exploited, Sudan would be "able to produce more than one million tones of fish annually."


“We are confident that fish culture in Sudan will witness a great leap forward in the coming period”, said al-Dagaly.


The AOAD is currently implementing an Arab program in Sudan, the organization’s head-quarters state, on fish culture in freshwater with the aim to transfer the knowledge and provide a nucleus for fish culture in Sudan and Arab countries.


Fish production in Sudan is currently confined to seven products including sun-dried and wet salted fish, Maluha (another type of highly nutrient  wet salted fish), caned, chilled, refrigerated or sun-dried fish. The wastes of these types of fish are used in manufacturing fodder, fertilizers and soap. Fish is marketed and consumed fresh (63%), sun-dried (28%) or wet salted (9%).



According to reports of the Ministry of Animal and Fish Resources “The inland fisheries are based on the Nile River and its tributaries, contributing over 90% of the estimated production potential of the country. The Sudd swamps in the south and the man-made lakes on the White Nile (Jabal Alia Reservoir), the Blue Nile (Roseires and Sennar Reservoirs), Atbara River (Khashm El Girba Reservoir) and the Main River Nile (Lake Nubia) represent the major fishing localities with respect to fish resource magnitude and exploitation thrust. The Sudd region harbours an estimated fish potential of 75 000 tons/year with a productivity of 110 kg/ha”.


“The shells of the mother-of-pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera and the gastropod Trochus dentatus are exported to some European countries. Other mollusc shells are harvested and sold locally as a source of calcium for poultry feed or as souvenirs.


Shrimps and prawns are sold locally as a highly-valued delicacy food, particularly in the better-class hotels”, said the ministry’s reports.


The traditional gears used by the fishermen in Sudan’s traditional fishing sector led to weakness of fish production and to increase of post-catch losses in turn.


The Sudanese Fishermen and Merchants Union at al-Mawrada area in Omdurman, the national capital twin, warn against expansion in over fishing activities in the Blue Nile, White Nile and the main Nile River, explaining that this would constitute a future threat to the country’s fish population in the near future , if measures are not taken to curb this practice.


Secretary General of the union said last year there was a flow of great amounts of illegally caught fish, attributing that to lack of monitoring on the Nile and fisheries, namely at Jabal ( Arabic for Moutain)  Awlia  due to inaccurate inspection by the fisheries’ monitoring authorities.


This, he said, contributed to the spreading of illegal fishing and marketing, usage of banned string fishing gears which constitute the major threat for the country’s fish resources.




Environment conservation activists have also warned against danger of over fishing or illegal fishing and asked for confiscation of fishermen’s narrow-eyed nets to protect small fish such as al-Igil which can weight some 200 kgs if  allowed to grow into a mature fish .


They also warned against catching small size of fish, which are publicly sold at fish markets for consumption; while they, in fact, are the food for bigger fish as part of the natural growth cycle, adding that continuation of this behavior could possibly cause an ecological imbalance  in the Nile.


Professor Asim al-Maghribi, Sudanese Environmentalist and expert, meanwhile, told Sudanow that there was great neglect for the fish resources together with illegal fishing that concentrates on certain areas such as Sinnar Reservoir.


Additionally, he said fishermen do not abide by the fishing seasons and do not use authorized fishing gears not to mention the weak monitoring over the fishing boats and the fishing gears.


 


He further explained that the usage of non-authorized fishing gears such as stings and hooks usually harm the fish, pointing out that the markets provide fish of less quality with complete absence of high weight types of fish due to non-rational fishing which targets mother and still young fish.


Furthermore, Prof. al-Maghrabi stated that thousands of fish die at Khashmal-Girba Dam due to silts, adding that the fish reserve amounts to 2 million tones at Lake Victoria and 5000 tones at the Nubian lake.


He wondered about the role of the Fish Research Center and described the administration responsible of the fish sector at the ministry as “weak”.


He further wondered why should the veterinarians supervise the fish sector at a time when there are graduates operating in the field.


Professor Magraibi downplayed the importance of fish culture in Sudan, attributing this position to "lack of fish fodder factories and fish egg hatchers in the country."


In an online scientific release in 2010, Director of the Fish Administration at the ministry Dr. Abdul-Majeed cited a number of issues facing fish sector in Sudan including lack of central fish markets, matter which led to loosing %30 of the country’s fish resources, in addition to weakness of transportation and lack of cool warehouses.


He also referred to weakness of investments, marketing and lack of specialized markets in addition to the consumption habits where the Sudanese favor red meat for the white meat, matter which he said became a major problem in addition to the fact that the fish issue has become a state matter that the federal administration does not intervene in.


He pointed out that there was also weakness on the environmental side where the wastes of sugar factories and oil transport ships, particularly on the coasts of the Red Sea, together with the waters of the electricity generating stations are thrown into the Nile, matter which led to elimination of great amounts of the fish resources.


Failure to endorse the Fish Law, which has been completed since 2000, was also among the problems hampering the performance of the administration, he said.


Director of the Fish Research Center Dr. Abdul-Muniem Khalid, who is also a lecturer at a number of Sudanese universities, on his part, called for conducting studies to determine the real needs and the fish volume and specify certain fishing areas.


Director of the federal Fish Protection and Illegal Fishing Control Administration Dr. Salwa Abdul-Rahman, in the meantime, stressed that all consumers and all those involved in fish culture or fishing have a national duty to protect the country’s fish resources against extinction.


She said fish consumption has many advantages as it facilitates delivery of pregnant women and reduces possibilities of children’s exposure to behavioral problems or difficulties in learning.


She added that salting fish also reduces the possibilities of infection with heart diseases, particularly among sports men and women as well as complications of the coronary artery, adding that fish is healthier than other meat food.


Health officials also indicate that all fish are rich in vitamins, proteins and minerals and they help in strengthening the human memory in addition that they are easy to chow, which makes fish a food for both adults and children.


Fish types are considered sources of mineral acids, particularly in iodine, sodium, potassium, calcium, and chloride  while many types of fish contain between 230 and 240 mlgs of phosphor and are rich of amino acids which help in growth of the human spine, teeth, muscles and tissues.


Fish also reduces fats in the human body and thus prevents against hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis) in addition to its contribution to treatment of many diseases as fish types, such as tuna, are canned in healthy oils that help in stabilization of the psychological state and moods.


Fish oil also contains vitamins (A) and (D) beside non-saturated oils (omega 3) which are highly effective in treatment of many disorders, reduction of the cholesterol rates in the blood, reduction of blood pressures and prevention against such diseases as diabetic, skin inflammation and cancer.


The Ministry of Animal and Fish Resources is planning to increase the citizen’s share in white meat consumption, fish in particular, through a fish culture program that started over a year ago.


The program targets five states to establish 200 farms for fish culture with the aim to increase the fish production to 190000 tones annually instead of the current 64000 tones.


However, the Ministry said the project was facing technical and financial problems but stressed that these problems could be removed by support of the state and the agricultural revival program.


In this respect, Abdul-Majeed Mohamed Badr-Eddin, Director General of the Fish Administration at the Ministry, said that they were working to increase the rate of individual consumption of fish to 5 kilos per year instead of the current rate of 3.1 kilos to match the regional and international consumption rates.


“To achieve this goal, we have embarked on implementing a fish culture project through 200 fish culture farms distributed in five Sudan states including Khartoum, Kassala, Nahral-Niel, Sinnar and White Nile”, he said.


He expected that these projects would lead to increasing the fish production to more than 75000 tones by the end of the agricultural revival program in 2011.


The fish culture lessens the burden from the natural fisheries and it is the dominant world policy where the country supports production of small fish and then the private sector will take over the whole process.


Due to its population density, Khartoum constituted the most consuming areas of fish, while according to reports of the Secretariat General of the Agricultural Revival Program, Khartoum’s need of fish is estimated at 16, 293 tones last year compared to the actual production which was set at 10,619 tones.

Sudanow is the longest serving English speaking magazine in the Sudan. It is chartarized by its high quality professional journalism, focusing on political, social, economic, cultural and sport developments in the Sudan. Sudanow provides in depth analysis of these developments by academia, highly ...

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