Egypt’s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail called on Monday on a number of ministers to take future precautionary measures to prevent mass deaths of fish in the Nile River that took place over the past few weeks.
In recent weeks, there have been reports of fish, grown in local fish farms, which have been dying in massive numbers and floating to the surface of the water, mainly in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate.
The Ministry of Environment said in a Sunday statement that the mass deaths occurred because the cages were overpopulated, meaning that there is less oxygen for the fish.
The statement also said that the farmers submerged the cages to very low depths, so that they wouldn’t be caught over-farming fish.
Such low depths, according to the ministry, have lower oxygen levels, and coupled with over-population, can cause mass deaths.
Samples have been taken from the dead fish to further investigate the reasons for the occurrence.
The dead fish have already been removed from the Nile, according to state news agency MENA, and water is constantly tested to check for its quality.
Authorities have also been inspecting local markets to ensure that the fish sold there are healthy.
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