A fool will not even find water in the Nile!

18 The Niles
Eastern
Sudan develops
appetite for
seafood
A new culinary trend that could make them less
dependent on volatile food imports.
Abdalhady Al-Hag | Port Sudan
E ven though the Red Sea State has a 750-
kilometre coastline, people living in the
region’s cities have long shunned fish and other
seafood, viewing them as a reminder of colonialism.
“In the minds of the Beja people, one of eastern
Sudan’s most famous tribes, the sea was linked with
invaders, occupation and slave traders,” says Jaafar
Bamkar, a researcher specialising in the Beja culture.
“They preferred living far from the coast and became
less attached to sea professions, like fishing and
other sea industries.”
But attitudes have shifted in recent years and there
has been a growing demand for fish and other seafood
despite high prices. The average price of a kilogram
of fish in Port Sudan is up to SDG 30 (around US$ 5).
Professor Ahmad Abdelaziz, an expert in food,
agriculture and natural resources, believes that the
food culture of eastern Sudan used to avoid seafood.
“This view has completely changed now. Consuming
fish and other seafood has become usual, especially
in coastal areas.”
Abdelaziz says that fishing was not a desirable
profession in eastern Sudan. “Now, however, a lot
of eastern Sudanese people work in fishing. It has
become a sought-after profession and people’s opinion
of all sea occupations has changed.”
“The demand for fish has dramatically increased
over the last four years,” says Yousef Mohamed,
a fish dealer at the Segala market, the main spot for
unloading fish in Port Sudan. “There is a high demand
for sea fish at Khartoum market in addition to
increased fish exports to neighbouring countries.
People want different fish types, this is a new trend
in local consumers’ food behaviour.”
“Every day, the main fish market in Port Sudan
receives two to five tonnes of fish, while the market
of Suakin receives 400 kilograms,” says Saeed Guma,
Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal
Wealth Fishery Directorate in the Red Sea State.
“There is also production in other coastal areas.”
Fishing, says Guma, is done using both traditional
tools like boats, nets and hooks, and industrial methods
like fish dredges. “The industrial ones however have
been banned since 2009 because they endanger some
fish species which should not be fished due to their
growth phases or scarcity.”
Boats mostly catch finned fish and, to a lesser
degree, shrimps, crayfish and shellfish.
The new demand for fish, however, has coincided
with a number of problems for fishermen. Guma says
over 3,000 fishermen work on the Sudanese coasts
and they use 800 vessels. They suffer from skyrocketing
prices of fuel and spare parts for engines and
fishing tools, which are all imported.
Seafood consumption in eastern Sudan remains
comparatively low, but experts say it is set to rise
further, putting the region on the road to food selfsufficiency.
The per capita seafood consumption
is only 1.5 kilogram per year in eastern Sudan: “It is
a small percentage compared to international and
regional consumption rates,” says Abdelaziz. “Seafood
however is helping to establish food security for
eastern Sudanese populations.”
“The
average
price of
a kilogram
of fish in
Port Sudan
is up to
SDG 30
(around
US $5).”
4. Nile carp (Labeo niloticus)
5. Nile tilapia (Oreochromis
niloticus)
6. Nile catfish (Synodontis
batensoda)
7. Sharptooth catfish (Clarias
gariepinus)
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2015/11/23 2:13 PM